The Hearts of A Teacher and Student
by ChasingJudai
Summary: A Musicboxshipping Fanfic(Sora X Yuzu)- Where the teacher is clever, a candy lover, and a bit insanely secretive, and the student is sweet, determined, and honestly..an open book. Sometimes full of playful kindness but how about when days progress into insanity? Still, their interactions do make for the most interesting, right?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Author's Note: Ah yes. I've always liked these two interactions and their characters. Then again, it's hard for me to hate any character in Arc V, lol. Without further ado, the cute pairing of Sora and Yuzu has come alive!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Arc V.

When Yuzu first came to Sora to request learning how to use fusion summoning for fighting for Yuya, he was taken aback by how far she was willing to go. It wasn't part of the plan though. He wasn't suppose to teach her so but as she stood before him, hands clasped in a pleading position and her azure eyes brimming with eagerness, he couldn't have refused.

He is reminded. Reminded by some students of Academia that wanted to only focus on the goal of uniting the dimensions and saw friendship as a waste of time.

Reminded of other students in Academia that had wanted to join their friends in battle but never got the chance to as they were not fit for battle. Reminded of the sadness that filled their faces as some disappeared from practice scenarios of if they could really survive the harsh clash of duelists. What also remains in the crevices of his memories is the unbearable isolation felt there.

All of that...still hurt.

He sighed, giving in before answering her with a brief "Yes." Her lips curled up into a smile and she hopped up and down, excited that she had won approval. "I guess I really am too nice, " Sora thought.

Soon, she had begun to do very well with the basics of fusion summoning and couldn't quell her smirk of determination from gracing her features when Bloom Diva shined in it's radiance.

"I did it!, " Yuzu squealed and Sora felt a smile playing on his lips at her happiness. "Couldn't have done it without you, Sora." "I'm really glad to have met you." Sora feels a slight blush dusting his cheeks but decides to quickly offer a cocky "Who wouldn't be?"

"Oh hush you, " Yuzu playfully retorts as she shoves him on the shoulder, nearly making him drop the lollipop in his mouth and send her a menacing glare which made her return the expression with a sheepish grin. Yuzu's smile remained as radiant as ever and Sora studies it for a moment, almost lost in the genuineness.

He felt guilty. Wouldn't this connection mean a betrayal of Academia? He wasn't suppose to form these kind of relationships with the citizens of other dimensions anyway. His only mission was to capture Serena. That was all he had to focus on. Once he got back, Academia would be one step closer to their goal. Then..what would happen? The goal would be accomplished but...would he..still be isolated?

It was dumb to even consider that question. Personal feelings did not have any place in war. He would shove down these emotions and never allow them to resurface. "Really though. Whenever you're around Sora, you seem to brighten up my day. You always do your best to help me and Yuya. Thank you, " Yuzu stated and Sora felt unidentifiable emotions resurface in him.

He couldn't find time to even bring up a prideful comment towards it as heat rised to his face.

"W-whatever. No big deal, " Sora replied, cursing himself for stammering and not looking directly at her. If there was one thing he had established about Hiragi Yuzu, it was that she was exceptionally kind and had a smile that he liked. He'd admit that much. "Let's celebrate getting ice cream!, " Yuzu yelled cheerfully, dragging him by the arm and racing him out and all Sora could wonder was how had he gotten roped into this. Still, a warm hearted smile tugged his lips.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Author's Note: Now that we have established Sora's sweet side, what about his insane side?

"One chocolate ice cream cone and one strawberry ice cream, " Yuzu stated to the vender getting her money out. Sora sat on the park bench, trying to ponder all the sensations wrestling his mind. Yuzu was..beautiful. That was it, he concluded. All of it was just the emotions you felt when you saw someone beautiful, nothing deeper.

It was true that those were his first thoughts when he had saw her, but they weren't to the point where he would dwell on them. He remembered talking to Yuya about it. "If you don't act soon, someone is going to take Yuzu away from you, " Sora warned, waggling his finger at him, and Yuya denied that he was in a relationship with Yuzu once more.

"I'm telling you. Yuzu is pretty, so that means someone would be attracted to her, and you'll miss your chance, " Sora kept warning, and Yuya decided this conversation was better left ignored and left the house.

Sora snickered, glad for getting his daily fun in. Now though, he found that it wasn't as fun to tease Yuya about it. For some reason, he didn't really like the incentive of Yuzu having romantic advances with Yuya as much as he had anymore.

What was more alarming was the persistent thoughts he had about her. He would focus on how her light pink pigtails lightly bounced up and down as she walked, how her light blue eyes would always sparkle, and his eyes would settle on her lips. These were feelings of desire but no matter what would happen to confirm it, he would deny it.

Sora had come to another conclusion. He only liked how entertaining she seemed. This was probably the reason he was having these...yearnings. Yuzu always had a sweet smile, and even when she got mad, he still had found some of it humorous. She was also..naive, and..her whole body was like an open book.

It was easy to tell when Yuzu was worried. It was different from Sora. He kept his guard up and always kept his cover. Most of Academia's soldiers did. It was just what they were taught. Sora understood now. He was just amused by how easy it was to read her. Nothing more, nothing less.

When the time came, he would abandon her, and return to his previous life. She would probably have tears spilling from her eyes but what did that matter?

It was just like a game. Always has it been. A game for hunting XYZ scum and now a game with Yuzu serving as mere entertainment before the main goal is reached. "Sora!, " a feminine voice called, snapping him back to attention. He looked up to view Yuzu holding the chocolate ice cream cone to him and his fingers reached up, brushing slightly against hers, sending another unrecognizable feeling that was now driving him mad and infuriating him.

His senses snapped till he could give an inner insane giddy laugh. This was a new emotion. Why should he be enraged by it at all? He should be glad he has something to enthrall him for once rather than the boredom of simply following orders. "Something wrong, Sora?, " Yuzu inquired, raising a brow and Sora simply smiled deviously, startling Yuzu a bit as this was the first time she had seen him ever wear an expression like that. "No, Yuzu. **Nothing** , " Sora responds, his voice so sober it sends chills down her spine and his emerald eyes now looking...dark.

A deafening silence envelops the two and Yuzu wishes for it to end. Sora's devious smile is soon replaced by a goofy grin, his emerald eyes shine with stars as he yells cheerfully, "I'm just so glad that you got my favorite flavor! I knew no one else could be a great student of mine but you! How many would know my favorite flavor!?"

Sora is soon nuzzling his head onto Yuzu's arm and Yuzu, though confused by the abrupt change in tone, slowly smiles, and uses the hand attached to her other free arm to stroke the top of his cyan locks. It felt different. Yuzu had touched the top of his head multiple times before as a friendly pat but this time...he focused on the way her fingers softly played with his hair, as that act was oddly soothing.

"Sheesh, is that it? You had me worried that you didn't like the flavor," Yuzu responds.

She'd like to believe that was the reason for why she seemed afraid but something else in her gut told her elsewise.

"Hmph. If you had got it wrong though, I might have had to no longer keep you as a student of mine, " Sora snorted. "H-Hey!, " Yuzu stuttered, and Sora only chuckled. "I hope you get brain freeze, " Yuzu mumbled, retracting her hand from Sora, a vein forging on her forehead as she puffs her cheeks out. It's silent again and she wonders if something is bothering him. His face is serious again, emerald eyes almost to the point where it seems like he's gazing through her soul.

"I'll take that as a challenge, " Sora had stated, and she would have wanted to like that he was referring to her snarky comment, but something told her elsewise. "I'd never get brain freeze, " Yuzu argues confidently. "Then eat it with me, " Sora stated. "Uh...Huh!?, " Yuzu shrieked, her blush growing.

"You heard me, " Sora answered with a smirk. "I-I d-don't, " Yuzu was stuttering now, looking down. Sora was now looking off, losing the smirk and off into an expression of seriousness. He realized that this wasn't the kind of entertainment that was like a game. This was the kind that was just heartwarming. He was confused as to why his feelings were flipping on and off. It must of been because this was his first relationship with anyone.

He had usually spent most of the days at the Academia by himself and so when someone new like Yuzu came in, it was natural to feel these kinds of feelings, right? He looked to Yuzu who was occupying her eyes with the ground and to no surprise, they were gleaming as they usually were. "Yuzu, has..has anyone ever told you, that you have nice eyes?, " Sora questioned, and Yuzu's eyes widened at that. He should be frustrated that this is the kind of entertainment that isn't like a game, but..he isn't. He enjoys...whatever kind of entertainment this is. "Your eyes are always shining and genuine even in a bad situation. They're...nice, " Sora explained, and Yuzu's lips arched up.

"Thank-, " Yuzu began, only to be interrupted by Sora saying "But I like mine more." Yuzu feels the need to pull the fan out on him and she brings it up, inching ever closer to hurt him for always having a nice moment and then ruining it with your egotistical self. "Relax, Yuzu. I just like mine more because I get to see you with them, " Sora simpered, and Yuzu felt her fan drop down to the ground.

"I don't understand you Sora. You can be so frustrating, then adorably playful, then sincere, and then..then.., " Yuzu rambled and Sora interrupted her yet again to say "Charming?" Yuzu would not allow herself to admit she was a bit...charmed. Not even in the slightest. Yuzu opted for reaching for the fan until she noticed it was nowhere on the ground.

"Where did it-, " Yuzu began before following Sora's pointed finger up to the sky to see her fan flying up. "NO WAY!, " Yuzu yelped and Sora replied smoothly before running away, "It seems I've distracted you enough to never use your fan again. The master is always ahead of the student."

"SOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Author's Note: Ahem, this chapter is lengthy as Sora is a jumble of thoughts here. This chapter is like an analysis of his motives, character, past, and about the fusion dimension. It takes place while Sora is in the hospital after Shun's duel and is an alternate take of the guards not coming after Sora's talk with Yuto in the hospital. Yuto has decided to look around to check if there were other fusion summoners so he could get them all into a corner with Sora for dueling while Sora is having a meltdown before actually going to scour Standard Dimension for Shun and Yuto. Also, what if Yuzu challenged Sora to a duel while in the hospital, to see if he really only considered XYZ as scum to hunt? What would ensue?

Sora now laid in bed, snarling and being angered by the result of his duel with Shun. He wanted to maintain at least some sense of dignity by standing up at the end but all he received was begging Shun for another duel **on his knees.** That was pathetic, but he needed it. His senses were making his face morph into a deranged grin. He didn't lose. There is no way he would lose to XYZ.

"It's just a game, " Sora reassured himself, as he heaved in and out. This was a result to not be expected and wasn't the point of games to just play around with results? One result that never was explored was getting beaten and coming up from the depths of a disgusting defeat to prove that would never happen again. It was intriguing and kept him busy as Sora was always bored of just following orders from the Professor and never questioning.

All citizens of dimensions were the same, weren't they? They would be united by the Professor's wisdom, and they wouldn't dare challenge it either. It was for their own good. Wait. Sora grabbed his head, confused by all he was thinking. If he didn't like how the Professor never gave him the option to dispute with him, why would he want the dimension's citizens to do so?

This is another part of the game. A contradiction. He was doing as he was taught at Academia. Analyze all results. The Professor always told him to not let his feelings win him over, but what if that was what needed to be done? It felt right, so it must be right, though the Professor always told him that just because something seemed right doesn't mean it was.

He could say the same then. Sora thought conquering others and turning them into cards all for the sake of uniting a dimension, did feel right at first but just because it did, didn't mean it was. He had told the Professor of his new found feelings but he merely replied back with, "Also keep in mind that just because something feels wrong, doesn't mean it is wrong. If someone disappears, you build a new world for them. It may have felt wrong, but what sense of injustice is there in creating a habitat for new people to live in? If this is needed to be done, so be it. We don't do this because we don't care for the souls that are lost. We do it because there's nothing else that can be done that serves as a better option for our goal and we are identified by nothing else but our soldier's persona."

"There is no right and wrong if you're going off of feelings, but..what if I gave you the option to have them?" "What?," Sora asked, never expecting the Professor to say those words. "Sora..if you keep acting up like this, we will put you in that "hospital" again," Professor stated ominously.

Sora's eyes went wide, and he shivered remembering the doctors with no masks, the syringes, the bright lights, and the constant white walls. That color was shown so much that it made him vomit but most of all he hated all of them saying "It's for your own good" as he kicked around screaming, the doctors holding his arms down to keep him from escaping and one of them closing in on his face with a scalpel and everything turning black afterwards.

"You won't do anything as we search your memories. We'll make sure that any ones that served to betray Academia was gone and you will turn back into a soldier, forced to relive this mission over and over if you disobey repeatedly. Your desire is always having something new for entertainment. You've told me multiple times how interesting it was when you hunted the XYZ citizens just to see all the new expressions so your subconscious probably will go insane if you don't feel anything new. Almost as if you defiled your purpose. If you want to feel that new entertainment, go out and seek new citizens to card, otherwise you will return as a repetitive subject that didn't get to feel as you so much as yearned for."

Sora swallowed hard, drops of sweat settling on him. He had always wanted to at the very least do things by his own feelings even if Academia had taught that was a wrong method to choose but…

"What's wrong, Sora? I'm not controlling how you feel. I'm allowing you to do your operation in a new way. Should this prove efficient, I'll no longer doubt your methods of work. Is it possible that you really don't want this? I had no idea you were the one to give up so that you were no longer anything but a useless pawn... **much like the XYZ scum you hunt.** "

"No..I'm not.., " Sora began, unsure at first before shaking his head. "I'm not like those **scum!** I'm better!" "Right, but..you once were like them, " the Professor stated. "As during those practice mission scenarios at Academia, you have learned what it's like to be hunted. " Sora couldn't forget. It was...horrifying.

He could always recollect the memories of them. Once he had met the fellow students he had trained with in the practice stimulations, the Professor had told him to card them. "But they haven't..they haven't done anything to me, " Sora argued, fear gripping him and clutching his heart.

"But they certainly could, couldn't they?, "the Professor taunted. "Don't you know that? Do you recall the history of the fusion dimension? You have noticed Academia is surrounded by water and boats, haven't you? Academia isn't the only place here to be fighting for. There are cities that students here have come from on boats. When people moved from their home, other towns invaded the other cities, dueling them into submission. Some cities were executed and nothing was left but ashes, while others just had people working for the invaders, and all they did was as they were told. If the invaders requested food, it was given to them, regardless of a famine was claiming the town. If the invaders demanded money, it was given, regardless of poverty. Some were thrown in jail and died in imprisonment. You especially know this as you hail from the city, Param."

"Your city was the first to make cards for happiness and it was overflowing with the most ingenious inventors, until the fellow city, Aron, that seemed like they could give peaceful negotiations, turned into greedy slave drivers. Aron denizens certainly could of done nothing yet when first arrived but they did do it later, did they not?

It seemed ideal, on the outside for the most part. When you actually were there, some of the prices were so high, that you had to steal to live and the merchants were so stingy. You were a thief, Sora, always trying to get food for living, because people living in your city that couldn't pay to Aron's negotiators were treated as slaves. When we first saw you, you were pale and bony. It was unbelievable how far you had managed living in the alleyways, but having no other place to go, you took our offer to join Academia. You believed in the prospect of annihilating those who had seemed innocent at first but revealed their true colors to be full of wickedness."

"These students could certainly be spiteful and malicious in the future. Eliminate that possibility and rebuild a new world! Unite the world!" "But I…," Sora spluttered, his heart beats thumping far too loud. "If you're afraid to be hunted, you claim your ground and shift that position onto others, " the Professor instructed, his eyes piercing into Sora's very being.

"N-No. I know how it feels to be harmed, so I wouldn't want anyone to be harmed," Sora reasoned, his legs shaking and his hands trembling. "How selfish then, " the Professor retorted, making Sora snap his gaze back to him in shock. "You're only using people as a replacement for the hurt you felt inside. You don't really appreciate their presence. You just want how YOU can USE their presence just like Aron. You're just like Aron."

"That's not true. I-I said that because I wanted to prove that if they ever needed someone, they can..Academia is...despite being a place for soldiers no one has trust in anyone and their lives are given meaninglessly not even able to experience any sense of understanding. I want to just prove someone can share in their pain. I want to.., " Sora began but he couldn't find any other words. "Enough of this nonsense. Card them. If you're not like Aron, **prove it** ," the Professor snapped and hesitantly, Sora's fingers brushed the button on his duel disk that was labeled " **CARD**." Finally, he pushed the button and he heard the students scream before knew they couldn't escape as they were already cornered up against walls but they had still hoped to be spared miraculously.

"It was for their own good, " the Professor stated. "This is wrong," Sora repeated over and over. "I would want to fight them only for them to learn their lesson." "Them?, " the Professor inquired. "A-Aron and just..those who are two faced or could grow to be that later on in the future, " Sora said, his knees dropping down to the ground in disbelief. "I carded them. Now they'll never have the chance to learn their lesson. Never!" For the first time, tears flowed down his face.

"Once the souls are carded, they very well are much like scum, " the Professor observed, folding his hands casually behind his back despite the tragedy that unfolded. "Professor. Who can we trust in this world?, " Sora questioned, quivering. "I can't even...trust myself if I am like Aron." "You can't trust anyone..not even yourself, " the Professor told him in a low tone. "You trust a solid identification not something that changes constantly such as people and feelings." "The firm identification is being a soldier. It can't change if you have feelings."

That was all Sora could recall but over time, it made him bitter. He didn't know what he wanted anymore.

Fun? To do things his own way? To not be purposeless? For people to learn? For nothing to betrayed? For it all to just burn? For revenge or just because he honestly liked it? Was he selfish? Was he not? For...using? For not using? To not be ordered like he had no mind or to be ordered because he hadn't know anything else? Perhaps that was why he liked when he considered anything a game. Because any option could be analyzed and it could fill the gaps when he hadn't known anything else. He was tired and he **hated** feeling tired. His duel with Shun had exactly made him feel that way and he **hated** that. He **hated** the constant concept of "It was for your own good." He **hated** how Shun's expression had barely changed throughout the duel, providing him no entertainment.

It was awful but what was more awful was the fact..that this was all he knew how to do. He had only known how to be met with the sameness of it all. He didn't care? He did care? He didn't know anymore. He would act on whim when it came to emotions. His words to Yuto also rang through his head.

"You don't know where the hostages of XYZ are?," Yuto asked, and Sora denied with "Why would I know anyway?" He was always only given orders, and never details on what was being done. It was up to him to find the details. "All I know is that your so-called prisoners of war don't exist because everyone who is hunted gets turned into cards and I'm sure that girl you're searching for is too," Sora smirked, and was delighted to see the change of Yuto's expression to one of widened eyes. "So-called? That is what they are. Hostages! Do you never feel anything for all the people being carded?," Yuto questioned, his fist shaking out at the repugnant fusion user.

"The cards are their new homes so how could they be hostages?," Sora replied, thoroughly enjoying this and seeing how far he could push his enemy to the brink. "Only in death can they rest and it will be the same when I bring Kurosaki, you, and that Ruri girl to the grave."

"How dare you..," Yuto began indignantly before abruptly being cut off by Sora. "Think about it. Life is always moving, and you can't sit on an always moving foundation, can you? It's unstable. XYZ was put out of the misery of it all. The only way to start a new world is by ending the principles of the old world. Were only doing our jobs. This is the will of Academia."

"Do you..do you not understand the essence of life!? Heartland was always full of it, smiles, and happiness," Yuto roared. "Life was the shelter of enjoying every moment with those dear to you but now it's where everyone must run as prey. What has Academia taught you of life!? What do you think of your own life!?," Yuto now pulled him by the jacket and all Sora did was snicker darkly.

"My life will be given to the grand purpose of uniting this world as opposed to silly principles like the ones you hold!," Sora shouted, sneering. "I allow everyone to wait their turn for a duel with me and finish them off later. Once they're finished, they no longer have to despise life itself for the waiting it causes. **They're freed.** "

Yuto stared at him longer, before dropping Sora down as he rolled on the floor laughing. "You're insane and I will make sure to finish you with the rest of the fusion summoners for tarnishing life," Yuto said, before leaving out the window. Life only causes waiting for answers. "What a holdup, " Sora jeered.

Yuto and Shun couldn't make him tired, and he wouldn't allow them to do so. "I understand what I have to do, Professor, " Sora solemnly answered. "Good. Continue your mission, " the Professor commanded and like that, Sora's signal with him was cut short. Immediately, he heard a knock on the door.

"Sora, " a voice called from the other side to which he responded "Come in." He looked up to see Yuzu standing by the door, coming to sit beside his bedside, with a rather worried expression contorting her features. He couldn't really blame her, after what she saw with him and Shun. After the moments of silence, all Yuzu could muster up was a "Why Sora?"

Sora's grin was back but his sanity was slipping. "You really want to know?" Now he burst into a wild fit of cackles. "Sora. Sora stop! STOP! ANSWER ME!, " Yuzu shouted, rising from her chair and balling her fists to suppress her vexation. "Where do you want me to start? There's nothing to understand except hunting duelists is fun, Yuzu, " Sora answered.

"I don't believe you," Yuzu replied, shaking her head. "What do you intend to do?", Sora shot back.

Yuzu now walked over to him ever so slowly, resting her hands on his arms. This was different from her usual light-hearted grip. It was urgent and tight. "Sora, what exactly do you view..your deck as?, " Yuzu asked, settling a hard gaze on him. "As tools to make me stronger," Sora replied bluntly. Yuzu stared at him longer, releasing her grip, and standing up with a tense aura around her.

"And your friends?," Yuzu inquired somberly. "Also as tools. Why are you asking the obvious?, " Sora questioned sharply. "Breaking people and still somehow having a sweet aftertaste in your mouth, " Yuzu thought out loud and as if on cue, the lollipop in his mouth broke and he chewed on it ferociously.

"But..there's something else. The root of all of this still leaves something behind." Sora felt the stick of the lollipop grow soggy, his least favorite part of eating it. "Don't you ever fear..the haunting of the souls behind you?" Sora stopped, his eyes widening as Academia students, XYZ citizens, and his friendship with Yuzu and Yuya all came into his mind. Then..something in him shattered.

"NO! I DON'T! NOW STOP WASTING MY TIME!," Sora shouted, his nostrils flaring and his eyes narrowing into slits. "So we were a waste of your time all along?," Yuzu asks, and Sora has to fight all the conflicting feelings inside himself. He enjoyed time with Yuzu, Yuya, and the whole rest of the gang in Standard Dimension, but he..he..

"You don't understand the great task I've been bestowed. I can't afford to waste time on friends," Sora argued smugly, proud that he was taking a solid identification in something for once and not something that left him always wavering in his thoughts. Yuzu did not believe this. Sora was full of good nature to her. He had taught her fusion summoning and he always cheered on Yuya and her.

It couldn't be true that he thought all of this. She wouldn't allow it to be true. "Duel me," Yuzu spat, readying her duel disk. "I have no reason to," Sora shot back, but she was still standing firm. "Why did you teach me fusion if you really are this cruel? Why did you help Yuya and I? I won't believe we were just tools..until you defeat me," Yuzu said, and Sora's face morphed into one of a grimace.

"What's with all that noise!?," a voice asked from outside the door and as the knob was turned, a doctor stood to see Yuzu and Sora. "I need to find Kurosaki!," Sora yelled, pushing the doctor down. "Sora!," Yuzu called, chasing after him. Sora ran and ran, finally stopping at the central park.

"KUROSAKI!," Sora screamed, only to hear a soft voice interject with "He's not here." Sora turned around to see Yuzu, out of breath from running so hard. "Sora. I won't repeat myself one more time. Duel me, " Yuzu demanded. "Tch. You don't give up do you? Very well. Let's see if the student can surpass the teacher. Fine," Sora agreed, taking his duel disk out.

"Duel!," Yuzu and Sora shouted simultaneously.

I activate fusion to fuse Canon the Melodious Diva and Sonata the Melodious Diva to make Meisterin Schuberta the Melodious Maestra! Fusion summon!, " Yuzu shouted, clasping her hands tightly as the fairy appeared clad in it's red dress, flickering its wings. "I set a card face down and end my turn."

Maestra Atk: 2600 Def:2000

"Alright then! My turn! I won't let you win so easily, Yuzu, "Sora began before drawing a card.

"I summon Edge Imp Saw!" "When it's summoned, I can send 1 fluffal monster from my hand to the graveyard to draw two cards."

"I send Fluffal sheep to the graveyard." Sora drew two cards and felt a smirk play on his lips. "I don't feel this will end all so well for you. Honestly, this is such a holdup."

Yuzu's lips had been pursed into a scowl but this time her lips twitched up into a smile.

"Indeed. It is a holdup, but I don't mind," Yuzu calmly spoke.

"Why's that? Because you get to waste my time?," Sora asked, irritated.

"No. It's a **holdup**. I know that this will somehow lead to a worthy conclusion that I can **hold up** ," Yuzu explained, and Sora was surprised before rage seeped into him. "Don't act like that with me! I will defeat you, Yuzu!," Sora screamed.

"I activate spell card Toy Pot! I can discard one card to draw another card and then reveal it. If it is a fluffal monster, I can special summon one monster from my hand. Otherwise, I discard the card." "Draw!" Sora drew and showed the card to Yuzu. It was his Fluffal Bear. "I special summon Fluffal Leo!" Immediately, the golden lion came up and roared happily.

"Now I activate the spell card Frightfur Factory." "I can banish polymerization to summon a fusion monster from the extra card I discarded earlier was Polymerization so since it is in the graveyard, I banish it from my graveyard to fuse Edge Imp Saw and Fluffal Leo to make Frightfur Leo!"

Blades popped out of the golden lion's skin and now an insane smile reigned on its lips.

Frightfur Leo Atk: 2400 Def:2000

"I activate Frightfur Leo's effect. It can destroy one monster my opponent controls, inflicting damage equal to the attack of the destroyed monster! Go, Frightfur Leo!" Frightfur Leo charged forward ready to shred Maestro with it's blades but Yuzu quickly shouted "I activate my face down trap, Melodious Risk! I can discard one card from my hand to negate an attack from my enemy."

"Hmph. You managed to escape. I set one card down. Turn end. Tell me what you will do now that you have no cards in your hands?," Sora questioned. "The duel is still continuing so there's plenty of time for new options," Yuzu replied, while drawing a card. "I summon Melodious Allegretto Friend."

On the field appeared a woman with long silver hair, red and yellow breastplates, a helmet, and large wings flapping gallantly.

"Do you remember this card?," Yuzu asked. "It's from the first time we both went shopping for discussing eachother's decks. You told me, "Let's try harder for today's fusion summoning" everyday and I would always just smile. Just glad I was able to be there with you..and you with me!"

Though Sora had tried to keep his face straight and unyielding he felt some softness outlining his features.

Allegretto Friend Atk: 2400 Def:1800

"I activate Allegretto's effect. I can draw an angel-type monster and I can reveal it to you to draw another card and if that card is also a angel-type monster, I can repeat the process of drawing. Once I'm done drawing angel-type monsters, I can special summon one of them!"

"Sora, I will bring the real you back!"

"I am the real me! An Academia soldier! What are you going on about!?," Sora asked, pushing his face back into a hard glare. "I draw!," Yuzu yelled. "Elegy the Melodious Diva!" Another card draw. "Melodious Rest of Victory!" Another card draw. "Melodious Polka!" She kept drawing.

"Soprano the Melodious Songstress!" Yuzu drew one more card and gazed at it very carefully. "It seems I can stop drawing finally," Yuzu thought. "I special summon Soprano the Melodious Songstress!," Yuzu shouted, looking at all the cards she had drawn so far.

"I activate Soprano's effect. I can fusion summon 1 monster from my extra deck, using monsters from my hand! I fuse Soprano Melodious Songstress with Melodious Allegretto Friend, Elegy the Melodious Diva, Melodious Rest of Victory, and Melodious Polka to make Bloom Prima the Floral Melodious Saint!"

"Come forth Bloom Prima with your noble resonance! Fusion summon!"

Bloom Prima came onto the field, twirling her yellow dress a bit, and winking.

Bloom Prima Atk: 1900 Def:2000

"I activate Bloom Prima's effect! This card gains 300 attack for each fusion material used to summon it!""Five monsters were used to summon Bloom Prima so Bloom Prima's attack goes from 1900 to 3400!" "3400 attack points!?," Sora gasped, before cackling maniacally. "This is what's so fun about you and Yuya. I never know what to expect!"

"That's right!," Yuzu smiled, bringing Sora's face to a frown. "That is what you liked about dueling, isn't it Sora? That's why..you were always so happy about dueling with Yuya and I. That's why I enjoyed our duels. A surprise was always coming. It wasn't something to be already known because that would mean a boring sameness. Duels were always interesting with you, Sora. Isn't that how you feel?"

It was how he felt, Sora realized, and he could relate in always wanting something new like Yuzu but..

"Bloom Prima, attack Frightfur Leo!" Frightfur Leo disappeared with the sound wave erupting from Bloom Prima's mouth and Sora's life points went from 4000 to 3000. "I activate Bloom Prima's effect! Bloom Prima can conduct a second attack! Direct attack!" "I activate the spell card I set down: Jack in the Box!," Sora yelled.

"When my opponent's monster declares an attack while they control 2 or more monsters, I can negate the monster declaring an attack and send 1 other monster they control to the graveyard, and then the monster attacking loses the attack of the monster I sent to the graveyard."

Maestra screeched as it vanished into particles and Bloom Prima's attack went down to 800.

"Turn end then," Yuzu said. "Don't act like you know me so well, Hiragi Yuzu. Draw!," Sora began. "That was close," Sora thought.

"She could've ended the duel that quickly with Bloom Prima. I really taught her well.""I activate Pot of Greed allowing me to draw 2 cards," Sora stated. "Lio may not have worked out before but I have more ideas in mind. I activate fusion to fuse from my hand Edge Imp Scissors and Fluffal Bear! Demonic beast that shreds all! Come forth Death Toy Scissors Bear!"

The bear came forth, stamping proudly.

Death Toy Scissor Bear Atk: 2200 Def:1800

"Prepare for battle! I activate Scissor Bear's effect! The monster I send to the graveyard can be equipped onto Scissors Bear and Scissor's Bear will earn their attack points as a result. Now Scissors Bear, attack Bloom Prima!" Scissors Bear ran forward, and crushed Bloom Prima into it.

Yuzu's life points went from 4000 to 2600 and Scissor's Bear attack went up to 3000. "I'm satisfied with what I've got done with so far. See if you can counter that, Yuzu." Yuzu only smiled and said, "I'm glad that you're giving it my all. Before..you said I was a waste of time but if I really was why is it that you have no cards in your hand? If I was a waste of time like you said, this would be easy to be end but you haven't."

"You're right. I don't know all of you. I know that. However, I want to. You go on about waste of time but there's no such thing as that. I'll wait for your senses to come back while moving in battle." "You'll wait and move?," Sora inquired. "Yes," Yuzu began. "Waiting for someone you care about isn't always just standing around in silence. It's a desire always moving inside and as long as it keeps moving, I'll keep moving."

"Some see waiting as only delaying and that as an act of cowardice since delaying only puts anything back but to me..it means you're put into the back lines of battle to support those dear to you. Remember earlier? When Shun and Yuto approached us after Masumi came to me asking where Professor Marco was? Both of them had been looking for Ruri. Ruri is probably resisting as much as she can for the people she cares about. I'm waiting for you, Sora, to tell me if this is really who you are, just as Ruri is waiting for Shun and Yuto. Both of us care and if resistance is what it takes, then so be it. I'll resist giving up during this duel."

"I..I," Sora began before all of his words bursted out. "You're wrong! You won't have anything to look forward to on this always unstable, moving foundation called life!" "I want..I want to be stronger!," Yuzu hollered back, making Sora's eyes widen. "For me, for you, for Yuya, for everyone at LDS, for Shun and Yuto, for all of Standard Dimension! I'll fight for them all! For everyone's lives! Sora, just what do you think of everyone's lives!? Of your own!?"

Sora finally let all the frustration inside break out. "You and Yuto have some nerve asking me that!," Sora screamed. "As if I..as if I know the answer myself! Academia is doing this to unite the dimensions, and my life will eventually be given for this purpose too. Were not suppose to question our motives. Were merely given orders. Were always moving, not having any moment of peace. We are told the only thing that stands for us is defeating others, for one less person equals us being closer to being the only one alive but it won't matter, will it? No one will understand our pain! Our only solid identification is our rank as a duelist! Nothing will change as we are bound by that fate! We are purposeless elsewise! The silence of never getting an answer of what life even is will hurt and our feelings are always wavering so we must deny them!"

"Sora, " Yuzu breathed out, shocked by all of his pent up emotions being released like this. Her hands trembled a bit as she touched her deck but finally she drew a card. "I set a card face down and end my turn." "THIS DUEL ENDS NOW! SCISSORS BEAR, ATTACK YUZU DIRECTLY!," Sora shouted, and the bear had done so, sending Yuzu reeling on the ground, writhing in pain, wincing, and coughing. Yuzu's life points of 2600 went 1100. "What!? Why are your life points still in tact? You should be finished." "I activated the quick play magic:Half Note Defender," Yuzu groaned. "It halves the damage I would take during the battle damage." Yuzu struggled to stand, her legs shaking. "I end my turn. This duel will be done soon enough," Sora spat.

"How painful," Yuzu began, clutching her arm now throbbing in pain. "You don't seek rest. You seek death. Rest is a state of tranquility while death is the eternal stop. You probably don't want to do anything anymore, huh? Even so...even so, Sora! Don't give up! Life is always moving, and I can see why you would call it an unstable foundation, but..you have so much strength, Sora."

"It must be so hard, being used to only silence, but..that can be your strength while dueling. Because no one knows where you are, because no one can hear you, you can take that as your power to attack for what you desire. It doesn't just have to be about simply following orders because Sora, you deserve your freedom just as much as anyone else in the world does!"

"You're more than just a soldier, Sora! You're a friend!"

"My….turn! Draw!" The words were hard for Yuzu to get out but she wouldn't allow herself to give up. "All the preparations..are complete.""This is a rare occasion and my plan for when all else fails. At least that's what you told me while you were teaching me fusion summoning. I vowed to only use this for one when I desperately want to help a friend." "N-no way. You're not going to..," Sora stuttered.

"I activate the spell card: Encore," Yuzu replied. "This is the only method to summon this monster. When I have summoned all of the Melodious monsters in my deck, I can call forth the Master of Music." "Canon the Melodious Diva, Sonata the Melodious Diva, Soprano Melodious Songstress with Melodious Allegretto Friend, Elegy the Melodious Diva, Melodious Rest of Victory, and Melodious Polka forge yourself together. Call forth the ultimate defender of life's song!"

"All of their attacks will combine. Canon the Melodious Diva, 1400 attack points, Sonata the Melodious Diva, 1200 attack points, Soprano the Melodious Songstress, 1400 attack points, Melodious Allegretto Friend,2400 attack points, Elegy the Melodious Diva, 2000 attack points, Melodious Rest of Victory, 1800 attack points, and Melodious Polka, 200 attack points." "Overall, 10, 400 attack points!""Master of Music arise!"

The Master of Music was a man with a mask and a top hat matted on top of his head. He was dressed in a tuxedo and held a baton. Sora was awe shocked. "You really..you really managed to summon it," Sora breathed out. "You're a friend that taught me this. Thank you, Sora," Yuzu said before yelling "Master of Music, attack!" The Master of Music waved his baton around, creating an orb of energy that was sent towards Sora's Scissor Bear. In the wave of explosions, Sora's life points dropped to zero. Sora's eyes widened as Yuzu's words echoed through his head. "I'm a..friend?," Sora thought, soaking in all of her words. As Sora lays on the ground, Yuzu says "You've taught me well. I guess the student has surpassed the master this time." Sora is at a lost for words before inquiring "Why? Why would you go so far?"

Yuzu is approaching him slowly before he feels a soft thunk on his head. "Because you're worth it," Yuzu tells him seriously, lowering her hand to reveal the fan she had hit him with.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Author's Note: What will be Sora and Yuzu's new established goal?

After his duel with Yuzu, Sora settled down, and was willing to talk about all that he had been through. "You already know that there's more than one dimension and that at fusion dimension there is Academia, a training school for soldiers," Sora began, steadying his breath before he released all of his past out on Yuzu.

"There's more to the fusion dimension than Academia. There are cities in the fusion dimension, invaded by other fellow cities. Everyone is always fighting. You're only taught how to survive and not really relax ever. If you do, death waits for you. I come from the city, Param. Param is where the first inventors of cards existed and because of their ingenious creation, a fellow city, Aron, invaded my home, masking their intentions of peacefully making negotiations for more cards to be made as a step to their greediness.

They began to work people to the death for making cards. They enslaved them and taxed goods so it was hard to eat. I had to steal to live. Academia found me and told me if I wanted to punish those who treat others unfairly with deceitfulness and build a new world, I should go with them to be a noble soldier. I left and took only courses to survive for battle."

"When I got to Academia though, I hadn't felt fulfilled. The Professor, the head of Academia, told me to just card people. To just..hunt people. In practice stimulations, I was suppose to card students to show there was no second chance in battle. I didn't understand because the students hadn't done anything to me but..the Professor argued that it could be like Aron again.

Where people seemed nice but in reality, weren't. He argued that even if they weren't two faced they could have the possibility of changing into that and that I was just like Aron if I didn't eliminate this possibility."

"He called me..selfish, using people as a replacement for the hurt I felt inside even though all I thought of was uniting Academia's soldiers, and proving that they weren't giving their lives meaninglessly with no understanding. If I was like Aron, I couldn't trust myself and the Professor told me that all I needed to trust wasn't my feelings but my identification as an Academia soldier."

"I couldn't believe in anyone or myself. Only my status."

"Why would the Professor call you selfish? You thought of "sharing" not "using" people for their pain," Yuzu replied. "Even if I wasn't, I couldn't help but believe him and though I wanted to give vent into my feelings, any time I resisted my mission as an Academia soldier, the Professor would put me in a hospital," Sora said, as he hugged his knees and felt his eyes stretched out in fear.

"They..the doctors..they would erase my memories and force me to relive a mission over and over. Any memories that were going to resist Academia were..erased, and if I remember them, they'll just erase them." "It may have not started at first but afterwards, I got so angry with myself, trying to deny my own feelings, as pain was all I ever knew. When I came to the Standard Dimension, I saw many people, laughing, chatting, smiling, and it was a completely different atmosphere compared to Academia."

"I wanted to allow myself to be like them but I was so conflicted with my affiliations to Academia. I began to feel hunted by what I couldn't do and I began to agree with the Professor's method of shifting the position of being hunted onto others. Every time I carded people, all I could think was planting my inner feelings on other people and associating them as prey. Every fiber of my being went into my obsession with them being the predator and them being the prey.

However, I would feel guilt over this new method. No one was being a taught a valuable lesson as I originally intended. Instead, I grew two faced. The past is haunting me."

"Sora, you don't want to turn around and see them carded anymore but..," Yuzu began before proceeding to lean over him. "I know..it won't be easy. I can't imagine how much agony you've been, but I want to help."

"There's a lot..I can draw about everything you've been through from your Death Toy deck. I thought...it's almost like building yourself into someone. The toys that were once just innocent creatures to play with morphed into agony but.."

"You originally thought of sharing your emotions but no one was there. You were frustrated by how long you went into isolation. You only thought of yourself then and making others understand all the pain you felt. You would latch yourself onto their psychological being if you had to. You wanted to because the Professor always told you to never allow personal feelings. The Professor knew you would do anything for this and finally thinking you were allowed to do things your way, you took what he said but..you were confused."

"Going insane because of it all still feeling like an obligation even if you wanted it to be different. It was because..you just wanted to be free, but you were bound by Academia. You let your emotions controlled maybe because...you couldn't trust yourself but..if you build yourself into someone, none of the people stand for themselves and can enjoy themself. It's as if..you don't even know the person then but..

"But.. I also thought your deck was about..building a life with others. That's why I liked it. I liked it when ever you fused. I liked always seeing someone trying to cling onto life even if hardships were fused into them. That's why..that's why I said, "You make me happy."

You just got building yourself into others and a life with others confused. You've messed up but..you won't do it again. I'll stand with you. I know that it's hard to trust others and yourself. I struggle with trusting myself when it comes to fighting alongside Yuya and the others but..I remember..if I don't make my soul like a safe shelter, no one will be able to rest in there with assurance, not even I. Sora, you liked tools in your deck because they build a safe place of hope, right?"

Sora nodded slowly and Yuzu smiled. "Let's try to trust each other." Her smile was so radiant but Sora felt tears stream from his eyes. "Sora?," Yuzu questioned, saddened if she had somehow hurt him further than he had already been. "Sorry. Is this real? No one has ever said such words to me," Sora responded, trying to wipe away the tears.

"It's real, Sora," Yuzu reassured him. Sora hugged her, his head resting on the crook of her neck, and Yuzu returned his gesture by resting her hand on his back.

"Yuzu?," Sora asked. "Hmm," Yuzu hummed back. "I've always liked your deck too," Sora admitted. "It was when you told me why you liked it. When you said what you liked about music was the markings called rests. Moments can sometimes be deadly quiet, making you feel uncomfortable during it, but there's always something to follow afterwards." Yuzu chuckled softly, happy that she was meeting the **real** Sora. She's glad that she's gotten to know him even better. Sora released himself from the hug and stated, "There's still more I have to tell you."

"There's...someone I have to beat. His name is Jean Roger, a former citizen of the fusion dimension, and one of the soldiers of Academia whose memories constantly got erased. This is a goal Academia hasn't given me but..Jean has taken some of the methods at fusion dimension to erase memories and his targets are those in the Synchro dimension. He's going to take the strongest duelists and put them in for mind erasure so they can be his puppets. It's not just that though. Most of his memories are filled with those of seeing Academia soldiers carded so his goal there is to possibly set a utopian society where you can never worry, no matter what the circumstances are, being even the request of mind erasure. I won't allow lies to be forged under his deceitfulness, especially not with the horror of removing memories!" "After him, Academia will be opposed."

"But...Yuzu, what is your goal?" "I already told you it is was to support you, Yuya, and..," Yuzu began before Sora cut her off with "I meant a personal goal." "Oh," Yuzu breathed out, recognition dawning on her face. She looked at her bracelet for a moment before answering. "I want to find out the secret behind this bracelet. Every time I'm by Yuto, the bracelet glows and he disappears. I don't even have memory of when I first received this bracelet even though Dad says I always had it."

"I also have been having these odd dreams lately. I see a younger version of me on a bed and there is a person next to me. The person talking in my dreams is always cloaked and I can't see their face at all, but I can always remember all of their words."

"There are rules to the world that nothing should be destroyed and if it's done, copies will be made," the cloaked figure said. "Because there was no fifth dimension and the world's rules couldn't comprehend that as that would mean it couldn't sustain itself without the originally necessary intended counterpart, a copy of one dimension was made in the meantime."

"Every dimension has it's own way of dueling: Action dueling, fusion summoning, synchro summoning, XYZ summoning, and what about the fifth dimension? The summon that needed to be found there would be replaced with something that copied the process of something being made as a substitution to fool the world's rules. Pendulum summon was forged and it ended up in Standard Dimension, reestablishing world rules."

"Destroy previous traces of memories, rewrite memories, keep making others relive their life, and have replacement illusory memories, regardless of whether the person was dead or not, because this would not only keep a tight hold on Academia soldiers, but also make copies of duelist abilities up for research and mass production. Isn't that right, copy Yuzu?" Yuzu hugged her arms around her chest as she confessed "I don't know what that person means by copy. I'm me. Who else could I be? Is that person referring to a counterpart of me like Ruri?" "Have you explained this to Yuya?," Sora asked to which Yuzu shook her head. "So much has been happening lately and I think this would worry Yuya more than he already is, " Yuzu replied. "I will tell him when the time is right." Sora nodded briefly before saying, "It's getting late. I'll leave you to rest. Your Dad is probably worried." Just as Sora was about to leave Yuzu called out his name. "Thank you for listening." Sora smiled heartwarmingly, before casually waving and walking off. His smile seemed..different. A good kind of different though. Yuzu felt her lips quirk up and then suddenly..she felt her heartbeats race a bit quicker. That was new. "Oh and Yuzu?," Sora turned back and suddenly she felt her heartbeats thump louder than they ever did before.

"Yes?," Yuzu inquired, her cheeks becoming a slight tinge of red. "I'll meet you at the coffee shop around the corner tomorrow early morning. Try 6 o'clock, I guess," Sora told her, giving her a big goofy grin which for some odd reason made Yuzu's body feel warm all over. "Y-Yeah! I'd love to meet you there!," Yuzu smiled. "Heh. You're too nice. Anyway, bye Yuzu," Sora said. "Y-yeah. Bye," Yuzu managed to say although her heartbeats trying to get out of her chest was not a good thing. Her face was also heating up and all she could ask was "What is Sora doing to my heart?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Author's Note: Just a slight break before we see Yuzu and Sora begin the journey to their goals this chapter.

"I can't believe you got us kicked out, Sora," Yuzu sighed, exasperated as she glanced at him under the bright morning sun shining down ever so brightly on the streets of Miami City. "I hardly see anything wrong with what I did," Sora grumpily declared, dusting his pants off as he stood up.

Yuzu hadn't expected the day to go quite like this. It had started as any normal day, with the exception of leaving early just to meet Sora. Yuzu had woken up, quickly scribbling a note down, and leaving it on the kitchen counter for her dad. The note read, "Getting an early start this morning so don't worry-Yuzu". She could already imagine her father's reaction. He would have tears of joy brimming down his eyes and hollering, "My Yuzu is taking dueling so seriously! Go! Hot-blooded!"

She felt a bit embarrassed thinking about that but she quickly warded those thoughts out of her mind as she made her way to Sora. As she turned around the corner, she saw the familiar sign that read "Miami Coffee Bean" placed in front of russet doors. She slowly walked inside, scanning her surroundings.

She could catch the glimpse of red walls, the whiff of grinded down coffee beans, and small talk filling the air. "Yuzu!," a cheery voice called, and Yuzu's eyes drifted to see Sora waving at her merrily. She took her seat with him at the chestnut brown table and smiled. She had been feeling even more joyful to be around Sora because now she had seen his true smile, not the one that was only a cover for Academia.

Yuzu watched him eagerly read the menu and his eyes show a glistening enthusiasm that she had never seen before. She released her wallet from her pocket before she felt a hand on top of hers. She looked up to see Sora grinning at her as he said, "I'll pay for it this time. Now that I think of it, you're usually paying. Why not change it up a bit?"

Yuzu paused, indulging in the fondness of him, feeling her lips spread up, as she said, "Ok."

If she had refused though, she might have had to deal with reasoning with him while he heaved a large sigh, complaining, "Yuzu, you never let me pay! Pleeaaaaasssssssse." Then, she would see his puppy dog pout that would try to woo her into doing so. She would concede that she had sometimes found his whining a bit cute.

She had to always withhold laughing at how his lips would settle into a hard line, his shoulders would slump down, and he would suddenly look to the side instead. "I hope they're not out of my favorite flavor," Sora sighed as he squinted his eyes at the menu. "What kind of shop would this be if they didn't have it?"

"After all, a day without sweets isn't complete!," Sora yelled, his face turning brighter at the mention of the treats and stars welling up in his eyes before fading to hollowness as he said, "I mean honestly humanity would be doomed if we didn't have sweets." "Just what would I do if my favorite flavor wasn't here?," Sora asked, crossing his arms and huffing in annoyance at the very thought of it.

Yuzu was going to try to rationalize with him to prevent her from chuckling like she sometimes wanted to do about his grumbling but this time, the laughs she had been trying to tie down had escaped and swarmed out of her mouth. "Yuzu, don't laugh," Sora demanded in a pleading voice before adding "It's serious."

"S-sorry," Yuzu apologized, trying to send all of the laughter away but failing to do. "It's just..it's just..sometimes you look so funny when you whine." "Ehh!? Your mean," Sora commented, which only sent Yuzu further into laughs. "I really am sorry," Yuzu apologized through her giggling and Sora beamed enthusiastically.

"It's alright. Laugh because I'd rather see you happy than sad," Sora said, and Yuzu's laughing stopped. Her heartbeats quickened, and her face was becoming a deep shade of crimson. "Sora really is..sincere, but what are these new feelings I have around him?," Yuzu thought. "Yuzu?," Sora asked, and Yuzu quickly masked her behavior by stuffing her face in a menu.

"A-anyway, t-time t-to order," Yuzu stuttered, wondering why her voice wasn't flowing smoothly. Yuzu skimmed the words of the menu for a long time but still felt Sora's eyes heavily directed on her. She knew he was staring. When she looked up, she found herself in a trance as she analyzed Sora. His teal hair was tied up as usual, shoved in his mouth was his green lollipop, and his blue jacket and black shirt were well kept, but what really made Yuzu lost was his viridescent eyes.

She saw so much in them. Dark seriousness, childlike innocence, insanity, but overall, his eyes still retained some softness. Yuzu found herself drawn to them and it was almost as if she was in a trance, charmed by them. Wait. Charmed? Yuzu was not that. It couldn't be that. "Sora, you've been staring at me," Yuzu said. "I hate it when people stare at me for too long."

Sora only smirked, saying, "If that's the case, why did I catch you finally staring back? Couldn't you have just further ignored me? Has something about me caught your attention?" Yuzu now felt the blood rise to her cheeks. Why did Sora..why did Sora..always find some way to smoothly counter her arguments? Words failed Yuzu now. "Because..," Yuzu began, only to see Sora propping his elbows up and leaning over the table as a means to get closer to her. Yuzu could barely handle the close proximity and her heart was beating out of her chest.

She would not admit to how attentive she was when she was looking at Sora's features. She couldn't. She wouldn't. "It's...it's," Yuzu began and all Sora said was, "Yes?," prompting her to continue. He was closer to her now and she was almost getting lost again in those eyes of his before a waiter came by and said, "May I take your order, customers?"

Sora felt a bit angry at the abrupt interruption to his fun with a flustered Yuzu but who said he couldn't stretch out flustering her even more later? "I'll have the Super Candy Deluxe coffee!," Sora shouted innocently, looking at the waiter scribbling down his order. "And you, lovely miss?," the waiter asked, unfortunately Yuzu was still dazed.

"I..uh, I..," Yuzu tried to stammer her words out but it wasn't working. "Er. The Strawberry Coffee."

"Alright. Please wait a moment," the waiter had said. Yuzu's heart continued to try to climb out of her, while Sora leisurely sat back in his chair. Sora leaned over the table and placed his hand on her forehead, and Yuzu felt a wave of heat course all over her body. "Are you alright? You're awfully red and warm. You don't have a fever do you?," Sora inquired, and Yuzu couldn't focus because he was far too close, and she could really get a better look at his eyes and..

"Yuzu, you're not answering. If you want, we can.. "NO!," Yuzu shouts before meekly saying, "I mean..I don't wanna leave." Sora chuckled before stating, "I wouldn't wanna leave either." While the moments to Yuzu are confusing, she finds herself oddly wanting to still stay for more. The moments to Sora are entertaining but there's only one thing that irritates him and they would be the small talk in the background.

He kept hearing: "Oh, well if it isn't Yuzu. Where's that boy, Yuya? I'd always thought she would spend a date with him here. They would make for a splendid couple. Why is she on a date with that boy there? Ah, it must be a brother or a friend from school. He looks far too young."

Sora then wondered how he could look so young? Was it..his face? The clothes? The hairstyle? Sora could also.. Well he cared for Yuya without a doubt but the idea of him having romantic advances with her and her having romantic advances with him just made him queasy and he didn't know why.

It should be fine, but everything in his body said it wasn't. He did not look like a brother. Where could they have gotten that answer from? There was something else that was a..possibility. He had remembered while he was teaching Yuzu, there were times where she would blank out with a slight blush dusting her cheeks. When she had revealed she had met a man named Yuto he had joked before saying, "That's how he stole your heart." It was just so much fun seeing her eyes widen and her deny it, but now he finds himself..slightly annoyed. Okay, not slightly. Very much.

After the waiter left Sora and Yuzu their drinks and Sora paid, he began to squeeze on a large amount of whip cream on his coffee. "S-sora," Yuzu stammered. "Don't you think you should sometimes cut down on your sweets?" Sora barely listened and only grumpily put on more whip cream on his coffee, some of which landed on his nose, and Yuzu could barely stifle a giggle. "Sora," Yuzu breathed out in between laughs, inching closer to him and swiping the whip cream off his nose with her mere finger. Yuzu licked the whip cream before smiling sweetly and taking the can away from him. "Gotta be careful or some of it will land on you." Yuzu is about to get napkins for her Strawberry Coffee but Sora quickly gets behind her and wraps his arms around causing a squeal to come out of her lips.

"Be careful too or you might spill that, Yuzu-chan," Sora says, and Yuzu gasps, "You wouldn't. Not after you payed for it." "Who knows what I'd do?," Sora asks, his fingers now rubbing against the sides of her stomachs making her laugh. "S-stop it! It tickles," Yuzu mutters, but Sora only continues, giving her a mere "Oh? Is that so? Then I'll just have to do it more!"

"S-Sora. R-Really, ha ha, stop!" Yuzu doesn't think much of this before she realizes Sora has been whispering that in her ear, breathing towards her neck, and his grasp in her stomach is..light. This is something Yuzu is not used to, and for the umpteenth time that day, she blushes. He's so..close! Sora doesn't stop tickling her and unfortunately her Strawberry Coffee spills onto another customer's head. That was when the waiter kicked Sora and Yuzu out. "Despite being kicked out though, you had fun, right Yuzu?," Sora asks and Yuzu nods, smiling. Sora smiles briefly before his gaze turns serious.

"Good cause even if it's a short time, I want to at least know we had some sense of joy. When we move towards our goals, there's no telling what may be done. I just wanted to make sure we had fun..before then." Yuzu hugs Sora from the back saying, "I already knew it wouldn't be easy but..I know we can both do it!" Yuzu releases herself from the hug to pump a fist and Sora smiles softly. "Besides don't say that, Sora! After all, the fun is just beginning!" The phrase made Sora happy to know how much of any influence Yuya held with his dueling and bonds, but he knew the bond between Yuya and Yuzu was deeper than any other bond. Yuya had told him how many times Yuzu had helped them when kids were bullying him after his father's disappearance, how she always knew past his facade, and always knew how to get her feelings right across. Sora can tell by the sparkle that fills Yuya's eyes that there is a possibility, a very strong one, that he loves Yuzu, and when Yuzu talks about how far Yuya has come with entertainment dueling, how far he goes to just try, and how she doesn't know what to do without him, Sora tries to be happy that Yuya and Yuzu would be happy with each other, but deep inside, he wants to still be friends with Yuya but..he wants more with Yuzu.

Yuya was a kind comrade but..still, Sora felt bittersweet about this romance in front of the oblivious Yuzu. Yuzu has a choice. To love Yuya and be with them, or she could fall for him, but Sora wonders what is the likelihood for her coming with him. He had been an Academia soldier and yet here she was..having gotten through to him. What would he do without her? Yuzu latches herself onto her arm and says, "What would I do without you, Sora?" He wonders why does she ask that.

Shouldn't it be the other way around? But she'll dispute him saying, "You helped me fusion summon to protect Yuya, you brighten up the room, you have a noble cause of wanting to build a life with others, you deserve freedom and I'm so glad you're in my life Sora!" Sora looks at her and asks with the most fragile smile, "Why do you say that Yuzu?"

Yuzu answers wholeheartedly, "Because I mean it."

Because..she means it.

This was it. He wanted Yuzu romantically with him, but how would he confess his feelings? He doesn't want to end his friendship with Yuya over her either. He doesn't want to hurt him. Should he keep silent? What should he do? "Yuzu," Sora thinks, and his mind is overwhelmed with both happiness and sadness over his new found feelings of love. He loves Yuzu, but he doesn't know what to do.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Author's Note: It's time for Yuzu and Sora to start a new journey. How many shall be roped along with them?

"I'm just glad that you're still my friend," Yuya said, with a big smile that Sora gladly returned. It was still a lot for Yuya to take in. Sora was apart of Academia, Yuzu was experiencing odd dreams where she was referred to as "copy" and they had explained where Pendulum summoning came from, Sora's agenda with synchro dimension and Jean, and Academia had a way to erase memories!

It was an overload of info, but it didn't stop there apparently. "Sora, I'm worried about Masumi," Yuzu confessed. "Masumi could of been a victim of mind erasure. When I asked her about tracking down Shun and the Dark Duelist, she had no idea on what I was talking about." "There's actually a lot more about that girl that you two don't know," Sora begins, and Yuya prepares his brain for more information.

"Masumi was looking for Professor Marco, correct? LDS claims to resolve the issue with finding Professor Marco but nothing has been done. Where is Professor Marco? He's nowhere. Professor Marco was a teacher at the fusion dimension." At this Yuya and Yuzu share the same expression of shock. "He's from another dimension?," Yuya and Yuzu simultaneously ask and Sora responds with, "I'm not done explaining yet."

"Masumi was an Academia soldier, and there were others that were on a team with her. Their names were Isao Kachidoki, Hokuto, and Yaiba. They were the top of Academia and it's not a surprise that they are the top of LDS here."

"One thing they shared in common was a strained relationship with their parents, as their parents left them, calling them good for nothings if they weren't refined soldiers but... Marco was like a father to them so they are very loyal to him."

"Jean was suppose to look over them as he was a fellow teacher with Professor Marco. Jean's closest bond is with Yaiba. As Jean was traveling in between dimensions to gather intel, he found Yaiba in the synchro dimension, lost in the streets by himself, sobbing, without any parents, relatives, or friends. When asked why he took Yaiba into Academia, Jean only said, "He reminds me of myself." Jean is an orphan so I suppose it makes sense that he would say that."

"But Yaiba.."

Sora remembers Yaiba excitedly hopping up and down calling Jean "Master" with so much praise for him welling in his eyes. "Master, what will we learn today?," Yaiba would ask. Yaiba. The optimistic apprentice of Jean. Jean would smile as he would talk about the lessons for the day and Yaiba's wouldn't stop gushing with excitement.

"When I looked at them all: Masumi, Yaiba, Hokuto, Marco, and Jean, I realized how happy they all were. I couldn't find myself to leisurely relax like them though."

The bond between teacher and student, huh? Sora had found himself jealous of it if it meant laughing and smiling. Sora now knows why he kept pestering Yuya to be his teacher. It wasn't just to learn more about his deck..but it was also to try and get over that jealousy. Sora could be a very jealous person, even if he tried to deny it sometimes.

"We need to find Professor Marc, Masumi, Hokuto, Yaiba, and then the mind erasure device. It's unsettling to think that those three are victims of mind erasure. They were probably here to gather intel but now their memories have been altered all too much. Isao is the one whose memories get erased the most so he probably has no idea about his alliance with Masumi, Hokuto, and Yaiba."

"Masumi," Yuzu thought anxiously as she held the card, "Crystal Rose." "I won't at all accept you losing in the tournament. Don't lose," Masumi strictly ordered, and Yuzu showed a smirk of determination. "You bet, Masumi!," Yuzu gleefully responded back and Masumi offered a smile before leaving.

Masumi didn't deserve this. Neither did Hokuto and Yaiba. The worst part was that they weren't at all aware of what was going on. They would be enlightened. Yuzu would make sure of it. "The plan is for one of us to keep battling in the Miami Battle Royal Tournament because there might be other Academia duelists which could hint at an invasion and we need to be ready, one of us tries to enlighten Masumi, and one of us needs to find the mind erasure device, " Sora explains and Yuzu immediately volunteers to go. "I'll succeed for sure!," Yuzu reassures Sora and Sora smiles saying, "I have no doubt you will."

"I shall look for traces of a mind erasure device and Yuya will continue with the tournament." As Yuzu runs off, Sora can't help but think, "You've grown a lot in your dueling." Before she can go any further, Yuya calls Yuzu's name. "You've learned fusion summoning to fight alongside me right Yuzu?," Yuya asks and Yuzu nods.

"Thank you for being with me. I'll do my best to fight alongside with you too!" Yuzu smiles and states, "I believe in you," before rushing to Masumi. Sora now wonders if this is the time to tell Yuya of his feelings about Yuzu. It has to be discussed eventually and maybe this would be the only time. He has to know about the relationship between Yuzu and Yuya.

"Yuya, what exactly is your relationship with Yuzu?," Sora asked, and Yuya raises a brow at him perplexed. "Do you have romantic feelings for her?," Sora asks again and this time, Yuya slightly blushes before saying, "I-It's not like that." Sora smiles before saying, "Yeah. I was like that at first. I denied it until I finally realized I was completely in love with her. The difference is you seem like you would deny it longer."

"W-Why are you asking me this? You don't need someone's permission to have romantic interest in that person," Yuya shoots back. "I'm well aware. This is Yuzu's choice and will to decide," Sora replies. "I asked because I didn't want it to ruin our friendship." Yuya sighs before scratching his cheek while saying, "Hypothetically speaking, if I did like Yuzu, it would still not ruin my friendship with you because I'm not that type of person. I like to keep my friendships."

Sora smiled before saying, "Glad to hear that."

"Yuya. Keep entertaining. You make me happy when I see you duel." Yuya grins before saying, "You too buddy," whilst giving Sora a noogie. "There's..one more thing, Yuya," Sora stated in between breathing from the noogie. His tone is now more serious. "I don't know if your father is still there or not but the last place I saw him was in the fusion dimension."

"My father was in the fusion dimension!?," Yuya repeats, wondering if he heard right the first time. "Your father had a You Show Duel in the fusion dimension for academia soldiers that tried to escape," Sora explained. "He offered me that option but I..I was foolish for not taking that opportunity, but I will..ally with them."

"My father is there," Yuya thought, having even more motivation to fight. He needed to see his father. "Go and win a match already, Yuya," Sora cheers, and Yuya rushes out to the tournament. "Parents, huh?," Sora thinks. "Yuzu. You sure have exceeded past all your obstacles despite what happened to your parents." He proceeds to walk off, focusing on finding the mind erasure device.

Author's Note: Why ignore the vast potential the Masumi, Hokuto, and Yaiba mind erasure storyline could of had? There is a lot that could of been delved into with it(in my opinion at least.)

I love the bond between Sora and Yuya. It's adorable. Well, that's all for today. Tune in to next chapter! Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Author's Note: Allow us to explore the childhood of Yuzu Hiragi. It all started with her parents..

After all, what did Sora mean when he said, "You sure have exceeded all of your obstacles despite what happened to your parents?" Yuzu's childhood was all found out by just one question to her father, Shuzu Hiragi. The question was, "Where's the wife?"

Sora remembers talking with Shuzo Hiragi before his duel with Shun. "So, my disciple seems to be doing quite well," Sora boasts and Shuzu turns to Sora fuming. "Why didn't Yuzu come to me to learn about fusion summon?," Shuzu whines before Sora nonchalantly shrugs, responding with "Cool it mister," while reaching for a slice of cake.

Shuzo takes away his plate, saying,"You can't have any dessert," making Sora whine an "Eh!? Why not?" Sora sulks before asking innocently, "Mister, where exactly is your wife? She must of been as pretty as Yuzu-chan!" Sora roams the house as he asks this, catching a picture of a younger Yuzu.

She looks to be around age five and she has the biggest smile as she holds her father's hand. When Sora hears only silence, he wonders why Shuzo hasn't responded. Sora turns to Shuzo only to see a sober expression overtaking him. "Y-Yuzu isn't actually..I never…," Shuzo stammers, before sitting down with his hands clasped tightly. "I was never married."

Well, that was a surprise. Sora had not been expecting that. "Yuzu is actually the child of a dying mother that I adopted at a nearby hospital. As for why I was at that hospital, I use to be a doctor but..I left that job a long time ago. Shortly afterwards, I met Yusho at an entertainment show and he encouraged me to establish You Show Duel. I have told Yuzu this and she has tried to manage ever since then. She is not afraid to help or ask for help. She's..Yuzu, my sweet daughter." Sora's eyes widened at this. Her mother had died at birth! Her father used to be a doctor? He had been surprised when he had found out Yoko used to be apart of a gang and ended up marrying entertainer Yusho Sakaki but now he was even more surprised with the reveal Shuzu made. He had certainly met some interesting parents.

"I...see," Sora finally says, slumping down in the couch. He sucks on his lollipop more slowly after learning that. He pays very close attention to her after his talk with Shuzo, wondering why she isn't at all depressed considering what he had learned about her family. Though, there was one day where he found her soaking in the rain, her quivering hands on a balcony as tears fell from her eyes.

It shocks him at first because Yuzu is usually cheerful(unless of course you gave her a reason to hit you with her fan, but that was beside the point.) "Yuzu?," Sora asks approaching her and she turns to Sora. Sora decides to act like his usually carefree self that pushes forth a tone of purity and playfulness.

"Jeez, Yuzu. Soaking in the rain! You could get a cold! I would of thought my student knew to keep herself in good health! Well, nevermind that. I'll walk you on home. Maybe we can get some sweets!" Yuzu doesn't answer. Instead, she turns back with the most heart wrenching smile Sora could ever see.

"Sweets? I'd..I'd like that," Yuzu confesses and Sora's gaze on her is now somber. "I apologize for you seeing me in such a state. Sometimes, I'm reminded of the death of my mother." Sora stands beside her now, the rain soaking him. "You've come by this far, Yuzu in your dueling! Your mother would be proud! I know it's hard but you can still do your best. Come on and let's go home," Sora says, forcing a smile, offering a hand, and Yuzu takes it but..she drops her head down on it, shocking Sora.

"You too," Yuzu whimpers, tears landing all over his hand. "You're just like Yuya, forcing a smile. Why? I..want to help. I don't trust that I'm doing enough." "You want..to help?," Sora asks and Yuzu tries to choke out a yes in between all of the tears. Sora doesn't understand. "You're mother died and all you think first is about helping people, not yourself?," Sora inquires and Yuzu nods. "I want to. I'll work harder for fusion summoning. I'll work as hard as I can! To protect both you and Yuya's smile," Yuzu states and Sora looks at her even more confused. "To protect our smiles? Why are you..so selfless?," Sora asks.

"Isn't that's what friends do?," Yuzu questions. Friends? They..They do this? "Anyway, we have to find some way to get out of this rain before we get sick," Sora thought. "Dad said he would be away for awhile to get more cards for You Show school so I think it wouldn't be so bad if you stayed at my home. Knowing my dad, he is probably staying at a hotel since the house is far away from where he is. He left me keys in case of bad weather," Yuzu said, snapping Sora out of his thoughts.

"I'm worried about you getting sick." She was..she was worried about him!? What about her!? She was crying over her mother's death and she was talking about his hospitality!?

"I'll lead the way, Sora," Yuzu says but Sora warns, "You should..worry about yourself too, you know?" Sora takes off his jacket and places it on her head. "You care about protecting Yuya and I but what would we do if you were hurt?" "I'll lead the way. Rest for once. I got your back."

Yuzu smiles warmly, taking Sora's hand and letting him guide her. "Yuya is lucky," Yuzu admits and Sora waits for her to explain why. "Both of our situations are worse but Yuya might have some hope on finding his father while my mother has permanently disappeared."

"Are you jealous of him?," Sora asks but Yuzu shakes her head. "I wouldn't say that," Yuzu replies, looking at the rain surrounding the two. "I admire his hope in someone despite a disappearance. Yuya may doubt his abilities but he never has doubts of whether his father is still out there, guiding him in his dueling."

"Yuya is an inspiration to me." "When I told him that when we were only five, you should've seen him. His forced smile had turned into a real one and he began to babble on about the future of his entertainment dueling. Even if he caught away sometimes, it was still nice seeing him excited."

"But..I can't get a real smile from you." "What are you talking about?," Sora smiles, to diminish growing worries and not blow his cover as an Academia soldier.

"You cry in your sleep," Yuzu explains, which makes Sora's false smile slip. "It's happened before. When we stayed late for training, and you wanted to sleep. You would whisper "Don't do it again. Don't do it again." It's different from your usual sleep talking of all the candy and ice cream to eat. It's not like you."

"I've been so worried, and I've even been working harder to make you happy. I wondered what I should do. Should I just keep winning battles with fusion summoning? Would that be the key?"

"Yuzu, just leave me. It won't hurt to be abandoned. No more waste of your time. No more burden. I won't be difficult to work with," Sora casually remarks, but Yuzu lashes back fiercely with, "How could you say that?" "Humans leave one another because one is useless to the well intended motives," Sora harshly spat. That was what Academia was taught and he was sticking with it.

Yuzu ran in front of him, grabbing his face in her hands firmly. "If someone leaves, it's not because you were useless," Yuzu begins. "It's because you were too good in their life for them to carry, Sora. **I will never, ever, leave you.** " Sora is now surprised, as she let go of his face.

That was..a nice way of viewing it.

Sora and Yuzu enjoyed the warmth of Shuzo's house and dried themselves off quickly. "Sora, I'm gonna make some tea. Make yourself comfortable."

The command does not go ignored and Sora eases his back calmly onto the couch. The serenity is disturbed though by a loud sneeze and a series of coughs. "Oh no," Sora inwardly groans. "I got sick." "Sora, that doesn't sound well," Yuzu calls from across the room and Sora panics.

"N-No, I'm fine, Yuzu-chan!," Sora says but Yuzu doesn't believe him. Yuzu comes to him, placing a hand on his forehead. Her soft fingers lull him into a daze but he quickly tries to fight that feeling. "I said I'm fine," Sora repeats, his hand on her shoulder as he sits up, before out of his throat crawls out more coughs.

"That's not fine," Yuzu states. She now looks around for some medicine and decides that she would cook him some soup. "Don't worry. I'll take care of you." "This is pathetic," Sora groans. His lips curl upward at one joke he could make to spare some enjoyment in this situation. "Does that mean I'll finally see dear Yuzu in a nurse outfit?"

This causes Yuzu to blush before retorting with, "O-Of c-course not!" Sora snickers before coughing once more, reaping the punishment on that mouth that always gets him into trouble. "Serves you right for that last comment," Yuzu replies before she sneezes. "Guess I got a cold too. It's alright. I just have to work extra hard!" The idea of Yuzu pushing herself didn't make Sora feel any better.

Yuzu was about to get some medicine out for Sora but she began to feel dizzy. "Yuzu, don't push yourself," Sora warns but it's too late because right as she staggers towards him, she falls on him, her head landing on his chest, and Sora blushes at the position. "I told you to not to overwork yourself!"

Sora glances upon her sleeping face, feeling his own gaze softening, and a smile play on his lips. "You're so reckless, Yuzu." The moment is serene but his thoughts are taken to elsewhere. She had been crying earlier and the loss of her mother had been severely hurting her. She was also worried over him and his dreams. She shouldn't. She should care more about herself but Yuzu wouldn't do that, would she? She was stubborn.

Sora chuckled at this. "Like I'm any better. I stubbornly suggest for her to care more about herself." Sora liked a challenge though. The two stubborn heads. Who would win? Was there even a conclusion? His thoughts stop when he feels something damp on his chest. He looks to Yuzu to see she is shedding tears.

"Yuzu," Sora says before wrapping his hands around her frigid frame. "Mother, why did you die at birth?," Yuzu asked. She was sleep talking now. "I didn't even get to know what kind of person you were!" Yuzu collapses into wails and Sora hugs her tighter to him, whispering, "I'm here, Yuzu. I'm here." Yuzu gives a dry laugh with a sorrowful smile.

"Mom, I think..I'd like to be a singer when I grow up! Yes, that's it! Yuya the entertainer and Yuzu the singer! It has a nice ring to it!" Sora smiles before he feels Yuzu shift a bit. "Oh, but then that leaves my master. Hmm, Sora. What would he be? Ah, I got it! A toy designer! It suits him! He can be real childish."

Sora frowned at that. He wasn't that childish. "Yuzu the singer and Sora the toy designer doesn't really have a ring though. It's kinda weird." Sora's nose scrunched up at that. Why did Yuya and her have a good ring to them and he didn't have a good ring with Yuzu? "But..I think that's what's best about it! It's unexpected! The crowd won't know what's happening!"

Sora smiled. So he wasn't left out with Yuzu and Yuya. "We need something to stand for all of us though. The name of our show should be "Entertaining Singing Toys." I think that's a good title, Mom!"

"I owe a lot to Yuya and Sora. Yuya taught me to admire someone even if they weren't there and Sora taught me to keep going no matter what. Even when he has nightmares, he is still teaching me fusion summoning. Sora can be whiny and too much of a sweet addict but he also keeps me focused on what really matters! I want to do my best just like him. I want to see his real smile."

"I suppose I owe a lot to myself too. I'm taking the invitation to becoming stronger! I didn't want to just be behind the people I care about. I'll fight for them! Mom, watch me! I'll grow! I want..master to say that. I want Sora to tell me you have grown a lot. It'll be my happiest day."

Sora smiles, patting her on the head whilst thinking, "You have grown a lot." Serenity lasts before Sora's nose tingles from a burning smell.

He looks across the room to see the soup on fire and realizes that Yuzu definitely needs to take heed to not overwork herself. Oh well. Right?

Yuzu can't remember much the next day. Only faint pictures come to mind. Nothing really matters anyway since it's a new day except..Sora! "Oh no," Yuzu thought, realizing she was suppose to take care of him. She wonders if he is still in her house and frantically runs around. Maybe in her room? Sora always did like to invade other people's rooms whether they gave permission or not.

Yuzu opens the door to her room and begins to let her eyes dart all over the place. Nothing sticks out to her except for a large basket with a pink ribbon tied around it. "A gift?," Yuzu asks, picking up the basket and looking for a note card. She finds one on the side reading,

"Dear Yuzu,

I'm better now. Thanks for your concern. It means a lot. You burnt the meal you made for me last time so I decided to clean the mess you left afterwards. Told you it was dumb to overwork yourself. Anyway, it doesn't matter, because I'm glad to be with you. This basket is a sign of that. Let's work harder today for fusion summoning. Inside, you'll find candies..and fruits of course! I know you said your amount of sweets should be cut down so don't worry. I just want you to be happy. So, if I do have a false smile, smack me with your fan, rough me up, talk softly to me, just do whatever it takes to vent out your feelings! I promise I'll snap out of it. It's hard to not do so when you're my inspirational student. Eat up!,

Sincerely Sora"

Yuzu smiled, opening up the curtains to reveal the bright morning light, and sitting down at her table to take a well deserved bites of chocolate. Sora is outside, up in a tree outside her house, smiling at her happiness before vanishing to where they would duel today.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Very lengthy chapter today! Sora is yet again a jumble of thoughts just like he was after the duel with Shun before Yuzu dueled him. Not only that but there's more to Sora and Yuzu's goal! Questions still need to be answered and it's time to drop a bit more plot points and just a bit more backstory points before we move on to whether Yuzu has made progress to finding Masumi or not.

Is there more to how Sora became a thief? That's not all. Yuzu has a lot more to ask about like what will he do after defeating Academia and where has he been living in the Standard Dimension so far? How has he managed in the basic necessities? Is there more to why Sora hung around Jean, Marco, Masumi, and the others at Academia? Yuzu also asks Sora what was he was going to do for Academia in Standard Dimension?

Also, before Yuzu asked Sora to teach her the art of fusion summoning, Sora was looking for Reiji. Could there be a possible connection between him and Reiji? Could there also be a possible connection between Yuzu and Reiji? What is it? (This takes place after Sora and Yuzu had went to the coffee shop in this fanfic and before they told Yuya what occurred with them and what their plans were.)

There were still questions swarming around in Yuzu's head, but she knew that Sora was willing to explain. Where to start? None of her thoughts were going in a clear direction. Hmm..

"Where are your parents?," Yuzu asked, and Sora turned his back to her.

"I've told you why you don't see my mother but..whenever Yuya and I asked you the question about your parents, you would always dodge the question. Where are they? If you don't want to answer now, I understand. It's..your decision."

Sora was silent before turning to her with a wry smile and asking, "Are you sure you want to know?"

Yuzu waited and Sora began to explain, turning around, with only his back facing her.

"Bear with me because it will be a long story. They're the reason..why I was a thief."

Yuzu waited for him to elaborate and Sora sighed before continuing.

"My dueling skills to the public of Param were brilliant, strategic, and enlightening, but to my parents, it was a way of making money."

"Like the Standard Dimension, duel tournaments in Fusion Dimension were meant for fun. I remember many of my opponents encouraging me and them to have a good duel, but..duel tournaments were a form of money too. If I lost one, my parents would always threaten to kick me out of their house for not giving them money. They were greedy, selfish, and I..hate them. I HATE THEM!"

Sora heaved in and out before deciding to explain more, but only in a broken voice.

"They used me, lying by telling me they were poor. That I was the pride of the family, and that I had to provide food, clothes, and shelter for them. They even apologized for having to kick me out of their house if I stopped being useful and lost my strategy in dueling. Then, they.."

He then remembered his mom and dad standing in front of him, hugging him, to only masquerade comfort before manipulating him.

"We want to help you, Sora," they had said, far too many times, over and over.

"But we're too useless. You're the only one who can take care of us. We're sorry."

"But Dad, Mom..you're not useless," Sora had said, and they chuckled.

"Do you really believe that Sora?," his mother and father asked, and Sora said, "Yes."

"Then, fight for that claim," his parents said. "Our usefulness will be in cheering you on. We can't afford cards because were in a family of financial difficulty nor can we provide that much food or clothing but..that won't change the fact that we love you. We love you, Sora."

"They said they loved me but they didn't really," Sora said, angrily narrowing his eyes at the ground.

He remembered going down to the kitchen, trying to get a loaf of bread and an apple but his mother would quickly slap his hand away.

"Ow!," Sora groaned before asking, "Why would you do that!?"

His mother only smiled before saying, "No eating until you give us today's money that you'll make us!"

Sora paused, hesitating, before asking, "Don't you..don't you have enough money and can't you..can't you share food with your child once?"

"You're asking too much," his mother sharply retorted, and Sora flinched.

"Never forget. You were born from your father and I, so you are carrying a part of us."

Her face was then softer as she gave Sora a smile and said, "Don't you want to prove that we aren't useless at all? If you're carrying a part of us, prove that we can stand even without the basic necessities of food and clothing. Prove that we aren't useless even in our poverty."

"It's just that..I'm doing all of these duel tournaments for you and Dad but you two haven't done a thing for me!," Sora blurted, agitated but his mother only smiled even more, apathetic to it all, when his father joined the room.

"What do you mean?," his father asked, smiling alongside Sora's mother. "You have been doing exactly what you wanted. Didn't you want to help us not ever feel useless?"

Sora was now confused. "That is what I wanted but..," Sora began but his father cut him off with, "Good. Go to sleep then."

Sora paused before his mother asked, "Do you want our love, Sora?"

"You're only a "part" of us so you have to work for our "whole" respect."

"But one day, I couldn't take it anymore," Sora began. "I had a fight with them over the way they were treating me. They told me they were never actually poor but just wanted to use me to see how much more money they could earn."

"They threw me out in the streets, telling me to live on my own and that I was useless to their well intended motives and I..became a thief to steal anything just to live."

"It's because of them..it's because...ARGH!"

At that moment, the words Sora said to Yuzu when she was in rain mourning over her mother's death came to her.

"People leave when you were useless to their well intended motives," Sora had said, and in this moment, Yuzu just wanted to hug him and tell him that she would never leave him, over and over.

"But you were..just a child," Yuzu said, her face saddening at all he was confessing.

Sora was just a child, and Academia had taught him how to survive battle and his parents never even raised him. He didn't..

No one deserved a past like that.

"Then the Professor also used my parental history to manipulate me even further," Sora continued.

"He argued that he gave me a shelter when my parents didn't. My parent's words and the failure of not being able to find shelter after they abandoned me, really made me believe I was useless."

"Then, the Professor would tell me that I knew what it was like to be left and feel uselessness so by leaving him I'd make him feel the same wrong thing I was doing to myself."

"He told me I never thought for myself and not leaving Academia was the only way to do so."

"It was then he asked me if I really didn't want others to feel the way I did. I had thought I was helping people at Academia by vowing to not leave but the question of whether I was helping myself still remained. Then, I didn't know if I was selfish, because I was fighting for a good cause of not wanting anyone feeling useless, but..I never even asked what others wanted."

"I needed an answer and the Professor gave me one when he told me I was selfish but the next question was whether it was right or not. Questions always remained."

"I didn't know what to do and when I had come to the conclusion that it was because someone was telling me what to do and I wasn't making my own decisions, I only went further into hopelessness that I couldn't help myself. I kept wondering if I was like Aron in the sense of using people."

"I wondered about the subject of "replacement." Especially when the Professor told me I was using people as a replacement for the pain I felt inside. The Professor then asked me: "Do you know what "replacement" is?"

Sora could remember the Professor knocking over a vase and then bringing out another one.

"That's what it is," the Professor said, and then Sora asked, "Couldn't that vase you just broke have been used?"

"Isn't usage of people what you wanted to avoid though?," the Professor asked and Sora nodded.

"However, there is a way the subject of replacement could be utilized. After all, something new came out of this."

"Are you saying…?," Sora began before the Professor interrupted, saying, "I still have much hope for you despite your selfish way of using people as replacements. After all, look at the new outcome that came even after the trampling of that vase."

Sora smiled, saying, "So, there is hope!"

"As long as I tell you what to do," the Professor stated, causing a confused expression on Sora's face.

"The vase over there wasn't hurt unless I hurt it, Sora. Such is the same for humans. You won't be hurt as long as you don't interfere with me. Don't give me a reason to hurt you. Don't disobey me."

"..Yes," Sora agreed but questions still lingered in his head.

"I'll be fine if the Professor doesn't hurt me?," Sora thought. "The vase was fine before he even touched it, so if that can be applied to me too, is what he saying even true?"

"Even so, it won't matter because my identity has changed to that of an Academia soldier. I don't need my true self anymore. I can't trust it if it always wavers."

"But..if I don't have who I really am, aren't I mindless and...who is guiding my life? What am I fighting for anymore if I'm gone? Lives are given meaninglessly every day at Academia."

"Is it really meaningless? My life will be given for the grand purpose of Academia and they'll guide it so I won't have to worry, but..is that what I want? Is that what I need?"

"Wait."

Sora then clutched his head, as a barrage of thoughts rained down on his consciousness, before laughing insanely.

"Ha ha, look at all of these new questions to entertain me!," Sora yelled gleefully. "It's way better than following orders only! I'll hunt others and have fun too! After all, they're just standing around in ignorance! I'll actually guide them when I hunt them by making them finally run for purpose! RUN! ALL OF YOU RUN! YOU'LL BE MY PREY AND IT WILL BE FUN! FOREVER! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

"But I was wrong, Yuzu," Sora said. "I made reality burn with the flames of war when I invaded XYZ dimension and the worst part was how I always laughed, claiming how I felt so alive. Fighting was my life."

"I hung around Masumi, Hokuto, Yaiba, Jean, and Marco because I could relate in how their parents left them. They were all happy with Marco but I still couldn't relax because all I could think was, "How could you still be happy when your parents left you? "I really was..jealous of them."

Sora then thought back to his time with them. "Professor Marco..where are..," Masumi began with a bright smile before noticing Sora sitting down, eating a lollipop. Sora turned around, and saw a sight he wasn't quite expecting. Masumi was in a frilly blue and yellow apron over her obelisk blue uniform and had on brown oven mittens as she held a plate of desserts.

Nothing was said but soon Sora cracked a mischievous smile and Masumi shot him a glare, showing that today especially, she was not in the mood for any back talk.

"Are those for me? You shouldn't have," Sora taunted.

"I don't bake for querulous kids," Masumi retaliated. "If you know where Professor Marco is, tell me."

"The price for me telling you is still one dessert," Sora smoothly answered, and Masumi's glare on him hardened.

Her lack of response and Sora's provoking smile made suspense in the room grow before Masumi quickly broke it by walking away and stating, "This is a waste of time."

"H-Hey! I want one dessert! Come back here!," Sora called, pouting angrily.

"Ah, Masumi made more desserts!," Hokuto and Yaiba called ecstatically, with stains from the cake batter she had used previously on their obelisk uniforms.

They were about to grab one but Masumi quickly slapped their hand away, causing them to groan in pain as they touched their now throbbing hands.

"They're for...Marco," Masumi explained, blushing slightly as she looked at them.

"Marco will be impressed when I tell him what I did today!," Hokuto yelled.

"I beat all of the obelisk blues again!"

"Haven't you done that multiple times though?," Masumi asked, which made Hokuto crouch down and mumble, "My pride is fragile and I just wanted to prove I'm still on top, Masumi."

"I see," Masumi bluntly replied, still staring down at the desserts and blushing.

"I hope..Professor Marco likes them."

Hokuto stood up before saying, "Masumi, don't you think you have a bit of an obsession with Marco? You always start blushing, and acting all overly affectionate. It's different from the usual you that's strong headed and just says what you bluntly think. You start hesitating with what you have to say and you don't share things with us, such as desserts or other gifts you have only for Marco-sensei."

"I like your real self a lot more than the one doting over Marco-sensei. The one doting over Marco seems like a completely new person I don't recognize," Hokuto thought.

"What are you saying?," Masumi asked, her tone low and angry.

"Relax because your boyfriend is just worried about you," Sora answered, which caused a blushing Hokuto. "I'm not..," Hokuto began before keeping his mind on the matter at hand.

"All I'm saying is you, Yaiba, and I are all at the top of the obelisk squad, so we can all be the bridge that provide opportunities for others to come to the obelisk squad with our reputation. There were times Yaiba and I wanted to meet up with you for debriefing missions we wanted to take on, but..you were busy with Marco. It wasn't the same for Yaiba and I without you there either. It's true we could go back and forth with each other playing fun games, but when it came down to us fighting, we missed having you punch our heads down and tell us to take our mission seriously."

"Oh," Masumi said, her narrowed eyes now mellowed a bit by what Hokuto revealed.

"I had no idea you felt that way. I apologize for not realizing this sooner."

"It's fine!," Hokuto reassured her, slightly blushing before beaming at her.

"Marco is the one that's been like a father to us ever since our parents left us here so I can see why you would care for him like that but..don't forget about Yaiba and I, ok?"

Masumi offered a smile before saying, "Two hardheads like you are kinda hard to forget."

"Right back at you, Masumi!," Yaiba shot back, grinning from ear to ear.

"Let's just hope we don't go recruiting weaklings on accident to the obelisk squad. Actually, if we gain more soldiers to our squad, I'll strive to be a great teacher like Master Jean! My students are gonna work hard, and they won't fail or it'll be on my title as teacher."

The door to the obelisk blue dorm soon swung open to reveal a man with brown hair and yellow highlights in them, a blue plaid shirt on, black pants, and gray eyes.

"Professor Marco!," Masumi, Yaiba, and Hokuto called, tackling him into a hug.

"Woah!," Marco yelled before laughing.

"It's great to see you! What are you going to do with us today?," Masumi, Yaiba, and Hokuto all asked, releasing themselves from their hug.

"First, I have gifts. For Masumi, I got her a diamond, Gem Knight card, and Crystal Rose card because she's a dazzling soldier to overcome any trial. For Yaiba, I got you the X Saber Faultroll monster card and a katana to show that your sharp as a blade when it comes to analyzing the strengths and flaws of a duelist. You'll make an excellent duelist. For Hokuto, I got you a star deck and a star pin in the shape of the Big Dipper to wear around your head since I know you told me you always found hope in astrology and I can't see why you wouldn't when you're great young man with a big future ahead of you shining with stars."

"T-thank you," Hokuto stuttered, while smiling at Marco's kind words.

"AW HECK YEAH! THIS IS COOL!," Yaiba yelled gleefully, as he swung his sword around.

"I'll use the Gem Knight to the best of my ability, Marco," Masumi said, seriously.

Masumi, Yaiba, and Hokuto all thanked Marco for his kind gifts and Marco smiled before asking, "Where's Isao?"

Marco looked off to see Isao had been quietly sitting off in a corner and approached him, bending down on one knee. "Isao, you still are quite the shy one, aren't you?," Marco asked.

"You remind me a lot of Hokuto when we first met him. He didn't open up at all in the beginning."

"..T-that's true," Hokuto stammered, smiling nervously and scratching his cheek. "But it's not like that anymore, so I'd encourage Isao to join in the conversation with us."

Isao didn't look at them directly in their eyes. He tried to pay more attention to a window with passing on Academia soldiers than to him. "Why doesn't he just talk?," Masumi asked.

"The same question was on my mind," Yaiba said, and Hokuto sweatdropped as he said, "Not everyone can be so straightforward as you two guys."

"Unless they mask it with ego like I did," Hokuto thought as he was reminded of his first week where he kept bragging about how his cards were the strongest and got pummeled as a result for back talk he couldn't back up. Hokuto just preferred to boast than stutter nervously though even if the end result was bad.

"You're like Hokuto in that you share the same love for the stars," Marco noted before placing a card in front of his face. "Take Idaten the Conqueror Victory Star fusion monster. I know you'll be a conqueror."

"...Is it really fine to take it?," Isao asked timidly, and Marco smiled.

Isao took it hesitantly before mumbling, "Thanks," and offering a small smile.

Masumi, Hokuto, Yaiba, and Isao all smiled, chattering and awaiting whatever Marco's lesson was today.

Sora was now angry at how happy they all were. Did they not understand what it felt like to be left? They were left by their parents and surely they knew the pain caused to be left by someone important, didn't they?

"Well..isn't it fitting for all of the abandoned soldiers to so easily allow themselves such carefree behavior?," Sora asked, taunting even more.

"They were perhaps abandoned for their ignorance to the harsh reality of the real world."

"What did you say!?," Masumi asked, angrily.

"Did I provoke you?," Sora asked. "I'm only stating the truth."

"You can leave if all you're going to do is be like this!," Masumi yelled.

"Claiming were ignorant when we know full well the harshness of being left! But we can't be held back or we won't be able to go forward!"

"The only one who hasn't moved on is you and at this point, you'll lack luster in your dueling, so leave for all we care! We don't need someone not at the best of their ability if they're still chained down!"

" If you came here thinking we would solve that, you're wrong. The only one who can solve whether you'll be freed by the past or not is you! So leave now if you won't give us the best of your ability," Masumi yelled.

"I will and I'll personally teach myself to fusion summon," Sora replied, slamming the door behind him.

"Good riddens," Masumi said, and Yaiba asked, "What's his deal?"

Hokuto looked at the door before asking, "It's not like I agree with how he's been acting but..wasn't that a bit hard, Masumi?"

"It needed to be said," Masumi answered, and Yaiba agreed with her.

"I was always jealous," Sora said. "It was a quality that stuck with me. Thinking of the future didn't help because I wondered if I would still be isolated their with my pessimistic nature."

"Yuzu, you have asked me why I taught you fusion summoning. To be honest, I had so many reasons for why I taught you fusion summoning. I was interested in your dedication to help someone dear to you. Academia always taught friendship was a waste of time."

"There were only a few Academia soldiers that had friends and wanted to help them out in the battle field but weren't able to. I remembered their sadness and I..for some reason, when I thought of your sad face of not being able to help Yuya, I felt angry for not doing anything about it so I just went ahead and taught you. I guess I was touched by how far you were willing to go for a friend."

"But..there were also...the words you kept saying during our lessons together."

"Is this just so you can fight alongside Yuya or do you have some personal grudge against losing Masumi? Perhaps both?," Sora asked, as he watched Yuzu nearly drop her deck yet again.

"Her clumsiness can get her in trouble," Sora thought as Yuzu rubbed her head sheepishly before she faced him soberly.

"I don't have a grudge against Masumi," Yuzu said, which surprised Sora.

"But didn't she beat you? Wouldn't you feel angry about that?," Sora asked.

"It's true that during my duel with her, I wasn't focusing at all very well," Yuzu began before Sora interrupted her with, "Yeah you weren't."

Yuzu frowned at his bluntness before arguing, "I was trying the best I could, Sora!"

"Doesn't change the fact that if it was an actual battle, you could of been carded instantly," Sora thought.

"But..she and I have a common goal," Yuzu said, smiling softly.

"A common goal?," Sora asked and Yuzu replied with, "We both want to protect our school's reputation!"

"I only wish Masumi and I could have a duel without our school's reputation at stake."

"You wish for..but she bad mouthed you, Yuzu," Sora said, wondering why Yuzu wasn't at all at least angry, and Yuzu only smiled again.

"She's definitely a tough duelist with a sharp tongue that makes me mad but at the same time..I don't think she's all that bad," Yuzu reasoned.

"Before, she kept saying how I had no luster but..did you hear her later on during the duel!? She said that I had some skill when I made a direct attack on her! She just wanted a worthy opponent and for me to focus during my duel. I can respect that and that's why next time, I'll show her that!"

"Her Gem Knight deck is actually really cool. Defending honor and knowing when to attack. Yeah, I like her deck a lot!"

"Why aren't you angry!?," Sora blurted. Why was she being so carefree towards Masumi?

"Why not get back at her?"

"Sora..while you were teaching me fusion summoning, you were angry that my mind kept drifting off because of..that masked figure I told you I met with XYZ summoning," Yuzu calmly began. "But..you were angry because you wanted me to be at the best of my ability. You're the same as Masumi. If you wish that much of me, why would I ever try to get back at you for just trying to help me?"

"Sora, I really am sorry that I'm not paying attention today, but..I really do appreciate you teaching me how to fusion summon! I'll try to listen to you more closely. If you have to yell real loud at me for me to pay attention, then do so! I'll will get back to listening, ok? Thank you for helping me, Sora."

"I..sure...whatever," Sora replied.

Yuzu's kindness at first irritated Sora. He thought of it as naive but..there was a part of his heart that leaned towards it. It made him feel warm inside but he wouldn't admit that yet.

"Well, she's...nice, I guess, and this is the first time someone thanked me for what I did but I'm sure I'm only liking all of this because..because..who wouldn't want assistance from an exceptional fusion user such as I?," Sora thought, but the reason didn't sound convincing.

"Sure just..," Sora began before groaning, "Don't compare me to scary sis Masumi."

"I think you would like Masumi if you got to spend more time with her," Yuzu said happily, but Sora only crossed his arms and said, "No way."

Yuzu laughed a bit before she worriedly looked down and said, "I wasn't the only one hesitating though."

Sora looked at her confused before she said, "Reiji.."

"Didn't you hear Reiji's words, Sora? He said Yuya was kindhearted but hesitating even if he knew he could win. Yuya must of felt like me when it came to not wanting LDS reputation at stake. He just wanted to duel for fun. I can understand that."

"Despite that, Yuya.."

Yuya pumped his fist at her while saying, "Don't worry because I'm sure you'll win the next one!" and "Gongenzaka, that was great!" ran through Yuzu's head along with him putting on his goggles before his duel with Reiji.

"Yuya only puts on his goggles when something bad is occurring inside of him and that's exactly what he did before Reiji's duel. Yuya really doesn't like the idea of "reputation." He thinks it's wrong since it's just what people think of you and not who you actually are. In other words, it's unfair treatment. This is also because Yuya has been bullied a lot."

"I'm not happy that he's been bullied but..because he knows what it feels like to be left out, he wants to share his understanding of that and unite people together with his entertainment dueling to prove they are never alone. I like the way Yuya doesn't approach people with judgement. I wish..I only wish he could approach himself that way."

"Yuya was acting happy in front of Gongenzaka and I but..he still struggles with showing his true self. There's gotta be some way I can cheer him up! Your fusion summoning seems fun so if I learn it, I'll be even more of a strength alongside Yuya and I'll make him happy! The thought of that is more than enough for me."

"And you?," Sora asked, only for Yuzu to look at him perplexed.

"What will you do for yourself? So far you have only talked about Yuya and Masumi."

"Well I..," Yuzu began, but Sora only cut her off.

"I had wondered why you and Yuya hang around so much, and now I see why. You're both incredibly similar."

"You both only think about others and not yourselves that much. Yuya fakes smiles to not worry anyone, not explaining anything he is thinking, and you may not fake a smile, but it's not like you explain what's worrying you either. It took you days to even talk about the masked figure you met and I was the first one you told. You wanted to keep these lessons a secret from Yuya too, didn't you?"

"Well..it would of been a nice surprise for Yuya if you hadn't told him so quickly after we had run into..the masked XYZ user," Yuzu said but Sora interrupted again with, "Now for the final similarity to be found out, I have to ask, why do you duel?"

"For fun and to protect my friends," Yuzu answered quickly, and Sora came close to her, flicking her forehead with his finger, before saying, "Bingo. You're exactly like each other. Do you doubt yourself sometimes while dueling?"

"W-well, yes, I do, during it, but..I also remember to have fun during it like Yuya and try to change it around," Yuzu said, rubbing her fingers against her forehead from where Sora had flicked it, and Sora said, "It seems like Yuya doubts himself too from what I observed from his dueling. There is one thing different about Yuya and you though."

"You seem like the one to show your emotions a lot more. You and Yuya are still both open books. Yuya's smile can be very forced and you in comparison weren't exactly hiding your hesitation during that duel with Masumi but Yuya seems to choose to bottle it up a lot more than you even do."

"How did you even meet Yuya anyway? Wait. Don't tell me. I'm guessing Yuya was probably getting bullied for his father's disappearance, you came and hit all of the bullies with your fan and told them to knock it off, they yelled and called you scary, and ever since then, Yuya admired you and you were friends, correct?"

Yuzu smiled meekly before saying, "Yeah, actually."

"Predictable," Sora thought, giving Yuzu an exasperated look.

"That's exactly how we met, " Yuzu began.

"Except well..you left out one part. I actually always had an interest with him because whenever bullies asked him what he thought of someone they saw as being weird for their deck or anything else they saw as weird, Yuya would always say, "I don't think so" and "Why not give that person a chance?"

"Yuya also, even if he was feeling bad, does care for other people's happiness. He would always try to entertain kids and make them happy, even if they felt nothing for him in return."

"I've always admired Yuya for being able to go that far for people despite what he feels for himself.."

"And that's why you love him, right?," Sora teased, and Yuzu answered, "I guess so," which surprised Sora, making him nearly drop the lollipop he had been sucking on.

"You're not going to deny it this time?," Sora inquired.

"For once, I won't," Yuzu said, which made Sora a bit bitter, partially out of not being able to get his fun of flustered denial and the other reason being unidentified emotions that had just grown.

"But..he denies a lot more than me in the subject of anything."

"When anybody asks if were together, he'll argue "Why would I go with such a crude woman?" or "You're crazy to think I'll ever go with her."

"I smack him with a fan for saying such things but...then I think about whenever I try to help him.."

Yuzu could remember Yuya having a hard time with pulling one crate down for You Show Duel School and so she decided to lend him a hand. There were others that also needed to be stacked up.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?," Yuzu asked with a bright smile, and Yuya looked to the side, with a slight blush on his face, but also..somewhat irritation.

"I guess not," Yuya said before adding, "You didn't have to help though."

Yuzu stared at him, confused, because sometimes Yuya would just offer an enthusiastic "Thank you!" and other times he would just be like..well, this.

"It was no problem," Yuzu said with a smile, and Yuya only looked down further.

He seemed..embarrassed, but Yuzu wasn't sure why.

Students passed by Yuzu and waved, saying, "Good job dueling again, Yuzu!"

"Those little songs you did near the Miami Center were amazing too! Keep up the good work."

"Thank you!," Yuzu shouted, waving cheerfully back.

It was close to the time You Show School was about to end so the amount of students soon became scarce, leaving only Yuya and Yuzu.

"A-amazing," Yuya stammered, ducking his head even further down and gluing his eyes to the floor.

Yuzu looked at him before he explained, "I mean after all these years..you still remain the one who can always start a conversation and continue it. You were the same when we were in preschool. I can only approach people if I want to entertain them. I can't even talk for long."

Yuya's glance then got sadder along with his smile as he said, "Sometimes, I wish I could be just like you, Gongenzaka, mom, your dad, and my dad."

"Yuya," Yuzu said before Yuya plastered on a fake smile and said, "Just kidding! Didn't you get it? It was all apart of pulling the audience in! I even pulled your heart strings a bit, didn't I?"

"Yuya!," Yuzu called, grabbing onto his arms before adding, "There's no one else you can be but yourself, and I think that who you are is a great person!"

Yuya only looked to the side, before saying, "You would say that because you're a kind person."

"That's not the only reason," Yuzu objected but Yuya only laughed and said, "It's no big problem anyway. Gotta go."

Yuzu grabbed onto the end of his jacket though and yelled, "Don't just leave after what just happened so casually!"

Yuzu was now angry.

"You don't really think I just said that because I was being nice, do you? You're someone I deeply admire, Yuya! You have a firm trust in others, even if they haven't done anything for you yet or you don't even know them yet. Even if you're sad, you always still try to help people! You taught me so much about always trying!"

"You have such a deep faith in your father even if he's gone. That's something hard to do! My mother is gone, Yuya. Gone. I never knew her personality, so it's hard for me to have deep faith in her when it's not like I ever developed an emotional connection with her, but you, Yuya, always serve as a source of inspiration for me, telling me that even if someone gone, or even if you don't know someone's personality, there's no reason you can't keep trying to live and believe in them!"

"Why would you want to replace good qualities like that!? There's so much good in yourself! Let me in on your mind! What are you thinking!? Why would you.."

Her outburst was interrupted when she noticed most of the crates she stacked up were about to fall. "Watch out!," Yuzu yelled, as she pushed Yuya and fell forward.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself on top of Yuya.

"A-Ah, s-sorry!," Yuzu stammered, and Yuya said nothing but look to the side.

"...You're reckless," Yuya had said, before noticing there seemed like one more heavy one that was still about to fall.

"Watch out!," Yuya called, pushing her backward, and then him landing on top of her.

"Are you alright?"

Yuzu laid beneath him, too dumbstruck to find words.

"I didn't know you felt that way about me, Yuzu."

"But.."

Yuya caressed her cheeks with his hands and said, "Thank you."

"You inspire me with your honest answers and your strong spirit."

Silence ensued before Yuya spoke again.

"I have always been interested in you for those very reasons. I couldn't deny it..even if I tried."

It was then that Yuya brought Yuzu's hand to his cheek and tightened his grasp on it.

"In preschool, even if it got real hard in dueling and you were worried, you always tried to calmly think of a way out of it and make a new solution. That's something that always stuck out to me about you. You make me wonder what I've done to deserve someone like you, but..despite that, I..can't see anything good in me, Yuzu."

Yuya slowly got up and just as he was about to leave Yuzu asked, "Do you want Gongenzaka and I to still be ourselves and not change?," Yuzu asked, and Yuya nodded.

"Then..why would you want to be like us? If somebody stole who we were, how would we be ourselves?"

"The only one you can be Yuya is yourself. Not anybody else nor a mask."

"And if you lock your true self away, who will be governing your life? You're an entertainer but certainly not a mindless one."

Yuya turned to her, showing a real smile, as he said, "Thanks Yuzu. You're right."

"Yuya and you have such simplistic goals," Sora blurted, before realizing he had said his thoughts out loud.

"I-I mean..teacher's goal of having fun is the best so I'm not surprised that Yuzu sis would wanna join him in the fun!"

Yuzu only smiled and said, "It's alright. It is pretty simplistic in comparison to your dueling."

"I mean, your deck to me at first was very scary but..I also thought when I looked deeper into it, it was almost like your monsters were proving even with something sharp and hurting infused into them, they could still stand. Endurance, and not giving up! That's a lot more complex than Yuya and I's dueling but..I'm so glad I'm learning fusion summoning with you, since I can see more of your own dueling and the reason you duel!"

"That's what..you think of my deck?," Sora asked and Yuzu chirped, "Yep!"

"...I see," Sora said before thinking, "What's with her? Why is she so nice? So far, she's asked if she could learn fusion summoning from me to fight alongside Yuya, she has thanked Masumi and I even though we both have snapped at her for not paying attention, and now she's complimenting me for my dueling! Even though.."

"You still haven't told me what you're doing for yourself, since you have only been thinking of Yuya and Masumi," Sora said, and Yuzu said, "Well, along with the fun of dueling, I also just want to be a strong duelist for myself and I love the thrill of the challenge! I sulked a bit after losing to Masumi but then I realized I had to pick my own self up if I want to stand for myself!"

It was then that Yuzu pointed out to the horizon and smiled, while saying, "I'll be on the road to more great challenges to overcome!"

"Yuya is the same too, Sora! Yuya does think about others a lot more but he also tries to be a strong duelist for himself that shows his true self! And I do think about myself too, thank you very much! I just,"

A slight blush appeared on Yuzu's face as she tenderly smiled, and said, "I just get excited when I think of how I can be with others! Yuya may be shy when it comes to talking to people, but when it comes to entertaining, you can see how excited he gets! The reason to that is clear. It's because it's fun to be with everyone!"

"I'll prove that I can count on myself and others when it comes to dueling! Ayu, Futoshi, Tatsuya, Gongenzaka, Yuya, Dad, and you Sora, will all have fun!"

"I'm..included?," Sora asked, and Yuzu only chuckled and asked, "Why wouldn't you be!?"

"You're not just here to teach me fusion summoning. I wanted to spend time with you! You spent a lot of time with Yuya but I'd like to spend time with you too and then after that…

Yuzu then took Sora's hand into hers, surprising Sora, and then she called excitedly, "Let's both spend time with Yuya! He's fun, isn't he!?"

Sora's lack of response confused Yuzu before she smiled and said, "I mean, if you want to. You don't have to if you don't want."

"She really is nice," Sora thought, but memories of his parents leaving him, and not being able to help others at Academia came back to him so he violently shook himself out of her hand and said, "Caring about others..only gets yourself hurt."

"It's true that you may get hurt," Yuzu said. "But..at least that still proves you still have a heart inside instead of being an emotionless machine."

"That's why..I don't want to hide my feelings, even if they hurt, and I want to show that to both Yuya and you for when you two feel alone in your hurt!"

"Hmph. What makes you think I hurt? I'm an exceptional fusion user," Sora stubbornly retorted.

"But..that's just a status and not your personality," Yuzu replied.

"So? A status doesn't waver unlike feelings," Sora shot back.

"Even if the heart wavers, isn't it better than not having one?," Yuzu asked.

"Because that doesn't change that you haven't eliminated what could of given you the possibility to experience warmer feelings in the future, so..there's still hope."

Sora let her words sink into his head before inwardly asking, "Is she...right? Then..if I accepted my mistrust of myself and not deny myself to an Academia identification, I would...maybe I would be a step closer to hope as Yuzu said. Is that really true?"

Yuzu laughed a bit.

"You really are like Yuya though," Yuzu said. "He asked the same thing after his duel with Reiji. Why would I hurt when I'm the first pioneer of pendulum summoning? To him, pendulum summoning was a unique way of identity, especially considering the strategies made with it, just like you and fusion summoning, Sora. I think because..so many people have told Yuya he's not special, Yuya wanted something to prove his existence, even though he's the only one who can determine his worth."

"Yuya is trying though now, because he has learned that it's worth isn't just determined by pendulum summoning alone. It has to do with character. You're trying too, aren't you, Sora?"

"I guess I am like him in a way," Sora thought. "Was that why I was drawn towards him? He forces a smile and I force this Academia cover too so perhaps I could relate because..were not really showing our true selves. That being said when Yuya does show his true self.."

"He's definitely a fun person. It's an odd type of "fun" though. It's not the kind where you hunt people, but I don't mind it either."

"So, you can see past Yuya, Sora?," Yuzu asked.

Sora,still was confused by all the moralistic principles Yuzu had introduced, managed to answer with, "I just have a knack for these kind of things."

"It's part of my job to be able to read people quickly and know all of their weaknesses and strengths," Sora thought.

"But..the ability to be able to tell what people are really showing is a great one you have," Yuzu complimented, but Sora was sullen about it. "It's only used for gathering intel and ambushing people," Sora thought morosely.

"Not really," Sora responded.

"I think it shows you really care about a person!," Yuzu countered. "If it really didn't matter, then why is it that emotions are still being read about the person? If it really didn't amount to anything, then it would of been dropped, proving no heart for that person, right? But you didn't drop reading Yuya's emotions, which means he definitely mattered to you!"

Realization struck Sora at that moment. What Yuzu was saying did make sense. The thing was..all Sora had to do was act one way, and pick up the signals on feelings to ensure no suspicions on his affiliations with Academia but he never had to try and understand why he was doing so.

Perhaps he was curious. Yuya left him with a fun duel that gave him new heartwarming sentiments before that he didn't understand so he wanted an answer and perhaps that answer lied in understanding why Yuya acted the way he acted, but..the real question was why did he want an answer when it was completely irrelevant to his mission?

"Is that true then?," Sora inwardly asked. "Did I really..care?"

"Yuya is a lot like you," Yuzu said, and Sora waited for her to continue.

"I think you both want to share in other people's pain to show that no one is alone."

"Yuya does it with entertainment and you do it with fusion, when you fuse forces to work together! I don't want anyone to feel alone in pain either. I want to share in their pain."

"Share in their pain..?," Sora repeated, thinking back to those same words he had yelled to the Professor for Academia. "She's...just like me then," Sora thought. "Except..she didn't get mad for the way Masumi treated her. If it was me, I'd hold a grudge and shift all the treatment she gave to me back to her ten times worse."

"I'd be enraged, scream, and laugh until she learned her place. Actually, that's a good idea."

"I don't know, Yuzu," Sora began with a smirk. "I think it would be nice to make Masumi learn her place for your loss. Just allow her to suffer."

"Once you do that, maybe you'll like the enlightenment of Academia a lot more and could join us," Sora thought.

"After all, I use to be like you when I was on the end of unfair treatment. I can very well help you."

"No, I couldn't..I couldn't do that," Yuzu said, which irritated Sora.

"Why not!?," Sora inquired.

"She also doesn't know how you're feeling, and the bad mouthing she did to you satisfied her! Shouldn't you make her pay for her ignorance?"

"If you wanted someone to know how you were feeling, you should teach them, but not in the way of hurting them like they hurt you because you're only giving them what they already know, which is their own method," Yuzu explained. "Sora, thank you for caring about me, but..I don't want anyone harmed. Not Masumi, not Yuya, not Gongenzaka, not You Show Duel, and definitely not you."

"Why..?," Sora thought. "Why would she not seek revenge? And also, why is she..caring about me?"

With all of the days that passed with fusion summon lessons, Sora began to feel very affected by Yuzu. He began to give up on the concept of her joining Academia because she seemed far too kind and not merciless enough. He could understand her desire of wanting to share in people's pain but he just couldn't understand why she was so lenient.

There was one time where he had hit her incredibly hard with his Death Toy Monster and he accidentally had injured her. Blood came out from her knee, which horrified Sora.

"Yuzu, I'm sorry!," Sora quickly apologized, rushing to her side.

"No, no, no, no," Sora kept thinking over and over, but Yuzu calmly responded, "It's fine. It was an accident, Sora."

"It's not fine!," Sora yelled before looking at the ground with wide eyes.

"What's going on?," Sora thought. "Why am I caring about her?"

"You were really taking me seriously as an opponent. Don't worry because it was an accident and I know you didn't mean to," Yuzu sweetly said, before wincing at the pain striking her knee.

"That doesn't matter!," Sora shouted. "Even if it was an accident and I didn't mean it, you still got hurt!"

That last statement Sora shouted made him wonder if it was a result of feeling guilty about his betrayal to Academia and of himself, by allowing personal feelings instead of only relying on his status for once. Look at what feelings were costing him! He had gotten excited during his duel with Yuzu and now she was in pain.

"Sora, it really is fine," Yuzu told him and all Sora could wonder was why was she was shaking the whole matter off. "How could I have been so careless?," Sora mumbled, before he picked her up and carried her bridal style.

"S-Sora!," Yuzu stammered, but all that was on Sora's mind was getting her bandages. He didn't even remember where he had taken her to wrap her in bandages but all that mattered was that it was being done. "O-ow!," Yuzu yelped, as he slowly wrapped the bandage around her knee. Sora looked up at her, and Yuzu quickly said, "Ah, don't worry because I'll get better!"

Sora sighed, but Yuzu said, "I-I don't think this such a bad thing! I've learned you have a lot of strength to protect your friends!"

"That "strength" ended up "hurting" you, not "defending" you," Sora spat, and Yuzu tried to look for more words to say. "Well..what matters is that you're trying to fix it instead of leaving it as is," Yuzu reasoned. "So.."

Yuzu then placed her hands gently on Sora's shoulders and said, "Let's move on."

Somehow, her soft touch calmed him down so he mumbled, "Ok."

Yuzu smiled and Sora muttered while looking down at the ground, "I just..don't want you hurt."

"I could say the same for you, but trust me, I'll be fine and I still want to do fusion summoning with you," Yuzu reassured him, wrapping her hands around his neck, and he believed her. He didn't know why but he did.

"You're offering me another chance even though I hurt you?," Sora asked. "I told you, didn't I?," Yuzu began, unwrapping her hands around his neck and looking straight at him with a tender smile. "I'm not gonna deny that what you did hurts and show no emotions, because if I did, I'd no longer have a heart that could of had another chance that didn't hurt and the same goes for you too, Sora. Let's just try one more time, please?"

"..Sure," Sora said, smiling softly. "Before I found her kindness annoying, but...now I don't mind. I just don't know why my heart beats fast..when I'm around her," Sora thought.

Sora decided to lift her up in bridal style again. "S-Sora, I'm fine now!," Yuzu spluttered, but Sora only chuckled.

"Nah, it's fun to carry you, Yuzu!," Sora cheerfully argued despite Yuzu's constant screams of "SORA SHUINEN, PUT ME DOWN!"

There was another day that really stuck out to Sora.

He had seen Yuzu hiding behind a bush and looking around for something.

"LOOKING FOR YUYA, YUZU!?," Sora decided to tease, which startled Yuzu.

"D-don't do that, Sora!," Yuzu stammered and Sora only snickered.

"What are you doing?," Sora asked, and Yuzu averted her gaze.

Sora could of teased her further by asking if she was planning to do something romantic with Yuya but saying things such as that made him feel..uncomfortable.

"...I was going to give Yuya a gift," Yuzu admitted finally.

"Oh really?," Sora asked, and Yuzu stared deeper at the ground.

This wasn't the normal usual flustered Yuzu though. Sora could tell something was bothering her.

"He's not making you worry or anything, is he?"

"He really shouldn't make someone like you worry though."

"Someone..like me?," Yuzu asked. "Why do you say that?"

"Because..," Sora began, scrambling for why he even said that. He didn't even think before saying it!

"You always bite off more than you can chew, claiming it will make you stronger, and I like your enthusiasm but I don't like overexertion!"

"You always overwork yourself actively when it comes to helping others and sometimes..instead of working, you just need to say what's on your mind for crying out loud, and take care of yourself or you'll worry me!"

Sora's memories of her sick and falling asleep on his chest, whispering about how she wished she could of met her mother came to his mind, but then he soon slapped a hand over his mouth once he had realized he had confessed how she worried him.

A tinge of pink was on Yuzu's cheeks and soon her heart beats began to race before she said, "No one has..ever told me that."

"Probably because you're usually taking care of yourself to not worry anyone and yourself, but sometimes..it's okay to get help, you know!?," Sora yelled, still cursing himself for admitting she worried him.

Yuzu smiled and then said, "Thank you, Sora. For caring about me so much, that is."

Sora looked off to the side, huffing, and saying, "Whatever. Just..call for help when you need it."

"Actually, whatever gift you have to give to Yuya, I'll do it in your place!"

"Sora, you don't have to!," Yuzu argued but Sora's scowl quickly stopped her from continuing.

"I-I just made him some chocolate to congratulate him for all the matches he has passed to enter the Miami Championship Royal."

"I want chocolate," Sora thought, grumbling now.

"I'll make sure to give it to him," Sora said, grabbing the green box she had put the chocolates in.

When he had finally found Yuya, he had a lot to say to him.

"You know Yuzu worked really hard on that," Sora stated, disappointed that he had no lollipop to subdue his craving for the chocolate Yuya had.

"Yuzu's baking tastes delicious as usual!," Yuya gleefully chirped.

"I want something she baked," Sora muttered under his breath, glad that Yuya hadn't heard him.

"My point is..have you ever noticed Yuzu seems to overwork herself?," Sora asked, and Yuya only replied with, "I always thought Yuzu was strong enough to handle anything."

"I don't deny that Yuzu is strong," Sora began. "But that strength can also lead her to bite off more than she can chew. It's not like she's invincible. No one is."

"You should know that too, Yuya. I do think you're strong but I know you're not invincible. I can tell when you're faking a smile, you're also biting off more than you can chew."

"Maybe that's why you don't comment on her overworking herself. Because you two are both incredibly idealistic, thinking you can take on anything. You both worry me. If you need help, call for it. Not like anything is restricting you."

"Considering their mentality..if they were surrounded by troops and separated, would they try to take them all on just to reach one another, even if that meant recklessly overworking themselves to do so?," Sora thought. "That mentality could seriously harm them further. Then again, it's not like Academia's mentality of not caring about what happens to even their own forces is better. All I want is a balance. Caring about yourself and others. No Professor telling me I can't have my own feelings or relations with others. No Professor telling me I can't get help or do what I want. Last of all, no doubting. If something needs to be done, I do it, and it's not because of orders or because I can't tell whether I can trust myself or not with the whole question of whether I am selfishly using people or not. I don't think I am if I think of "sharing" the pain, but..I don't know anymore. All I want is balance."

"Just be careful, Yuya," Sora said, getting up to leave.

"Sora!," Yuya called, sending him a bright smile. "Thank you for your concern, Sora."

Sora smiled and said, "Yeah. You and I are more alike than you think so I understand."

Yuya looked at him confused, but Sora didn't bother explaining it. Too long of a story.

Sora's mind was full of far too much thoughts, but he also had to ask why did he teach Yuzu fusion summoning? Too many answers would pop up. Because I thought of Academia. Because she touched me with her kindness. Because..I like her? Why do I like her?

She..has a nice smile.(But she's clumsy.)

She..knows just how to speak with an encouraging voice.(But she can't voice her own worries.)

She...cares.(Even though she overworks herself.)

All of these thoughts kept overflowing, overwhelming Sora and causing Sora far too much confusion because he couldn't even process how fast they were all going.

Why does she like Yuya?

Well, Yuya is nice. (No wonder she likes him.)

Yuya is entertaining, and knows how to show people a good time even if he can't converse very well. (Yet another reason as to why she could like him.)

Yuya cares.(Just like Yuzu.)

Yuya is a great friend and he should be happy with Yuzu and Yuzu should be happy with Yuya too! He should support him and his romance with her and her romance with him, but he just can't find himself liking the idea.

Sora tries to reason that it can't be all that bad, can it? Yuya usually denies interest in Yuzu, and Sora tries to deny his interest in her as well.

Tries? He doesn't have to try. He doesn't at all like the way her eyes sparkle whenever she's around him. He doesn't like the way her warm body presses up against him in a hug. He doesn't like to hear her sweet voice call his name. Most of all, Sora does not like how she bites her lip, making him..have certain desires to press his lips against her and..

"STOP!," Sora yells to himself.

He doesn't at all like Yuzu.

….Okay. Maybe he does.

Maybe it's so bad sometimes he has to try to deny it.

Yuya denies it too. This can't be bad though, right?

He could relate to how Yuya denies tries to deny his feelings for Yuzu. He understands.

But...along with the good parts of Yuya, Sora still found the need to ask, "Why Yuya, Yuzu?"

Sora would then argue, "I'm..

Blunt.(But at least I don't beat around the bush.)

Great.(There's no one who can do "me" better!)

I care too.(Maybe I'm not as open about showing it enough, but I do!)

…(So why not me, Yuzu?)

Then again, I'm..

Sneaky.(Way too much.)

Someone who abandoned their own feelings. (But now I'm growing them again so that can't be bad if I'm trying, right?)

Ruthless(How can Yuya and Yuzu be so lenient with others if they badmouthed them? Yuya will be insulted, being called the son of a coward, and instead of hurting anyone he'll keep doing his entertainment dueling. Yuzu will assume the opponent just wanted her to the best of her ability! All I think is hurt them if they hurt me.)

(Why would Yuzu ever see anything in me?)

(Not that I feel anything for her. I'm pretty sure I'm acting like this because you're treating me in a "new" way and I'm not use to what I don't already know. That's it. That has to be it.)

….It's not it, is it?

Fusion lessons..made him love Yuzu.

"Why I taught you fusion summoning was because..," Sora began, wondering if now was the right time to confess before hearing sobs behind him.

He turned around to see Yuzu with tears coming out from her eyes, and Sora only smiled.

"You really are too nice if you're crying over what I said about my parents," Sora said, smiling as he walked up to hug her.

"It's because of this kindness you're showing me right now that made me want to keep showing you fusion summoning," Sora confessed.

"And develop feelings of love," Sora thought but the words were harder to say.

"But..you've been through so much hurt, Sora!," Yuzu cried out, and Sora tightened his arms around her. "I won't leave you! I promise I won't leave!"

"Neither will I," Sora solemnly vowed.

"I don't want to ever leave your side."

"And I want you..always beside me."

"Always."

Sora loosened his grip on Yuzu and stepped away from her.

"Knowing you, you still have questions," Sora said, with a smile, and Yuzu dried her tears, nodding.

"You know me so well," Yuzu said, and Sora chuckled.

"Yuzu always was the inquisitive type."

"Ask away," Sora requested, and Yuzu struggled for what else she would ask.

"How have you managed here in the Standard Dimension when it came to basic necessities like food, shelter, and money?," Yuzu asked, and Sora looked to the side with a nervous smile.

"Well as for how I got money...I found a bar to work at," Sora confessed, and Yuzu yelled "WHAT!?" so loud he had to cover his ears.

"Listen, it happened like this," Sora began. "I was on the streets because I figured strong duelists might be there and they would be fun to fight. It's always in the rough corners, right? Then some guy from a nearby bar asked me if I needed a job and I said yes. He told me to come by his bar because there would be strong duelists and I would get to try some drinks so I figured how could I shoot down that offer? I mean I always wondered about the taste of.."

Sora was about to continue before noticing Yuzu's hard stare on him.

"Ah, anyway…," Sora said, deciding not to finish that sentence.

"Eventually I got enough money to buy me a room at a hotel once a night and food, but I kept getting kicked out for apparently consuming too much candy any hotel I went to so I kinda..bummed food off of Yuya in the mornings and had to find abandoned shelters no one had used."

Yuzu glared at him and Sora said, "Now don't look at me that way. It was the only way I could get a job and money."

"That's not true Sora and you know it!," Yuzu disagreed. "You could of gotten a job at a bakery for crying out loud."

"The thought crossed my mind," Sora said before continuing with, "However, I have a serious hard time controlling my consumption of sweets so I figured I'd get kicked out and also, I'm not an exceptional baker or cook."

"I always burn my meals. One thing I've learned from all my cooking lessons was when making eggs, instead of putting chocolate syrup in the pan put oil in the pan and don't apply too much heat."

"You put syrup in a pan...instead of oil?," Yuzu thought, her eyebrow twitching at his..odd cooking skills.

"Oh yeah and don't flip the pancake too high or it will stick to the ceiling," Sora said, and Yuzu only thought, "Please don't make me have to imagine all of the hard times you had in the kitchen."

"Just how exactly did he keep customers?"

Yuzu then imagined Sora pretending to be cute and enthusiastic, chirping, "Welcome everyone!", bouncing around the place just to get his customers in.

"Of course. That makes perfect sense," Yuzu concluded, but she still didn't like that it was being used for a bar.

"Instead of bumming off Yuya, when we're done with all of our goals with Academia and my bracelet, you're going to stay at my father's house and I'll cook you meals," Yuzu said.

"Jeez, you sound like a housewife," Sora replied, only to earn a blush from Yuzu before she smacked him on top of his head with her fan and yelled, "I'M NOT!"

Sora laughed before smiling and saying, "But if my meals are cooked by you, I don't mind eating."

Yuzu blushed before saying, "You'll have to control your sweets intake though and get a job!"

"Eh!? No way!," Sora whined and Yuzu only said, "No complaining. If you want, Yuya and I will work with you at a bakery and make sure you don't eat anything."

"I guess I can't complain if I need a shelter to come to after this whole Academia incident," Sora rationalized. "Actually..now that I think about it, I could actually become a toy designer."

Sora gave the biggest smile Yuzu had ever seen on him as he yelled happily, "That's it! I'm going to become a toy designer! I've always wanted toys ever since I was young and I can understand other kids wanting them too! I'm gonna share my design of toys with everyone! This will be great!"

Yuzu stared at Sora's eyes again and thought, "I can see that childlike innocence in his eyes again."

"Then, let's do that show, Yuzu! Let's do "Entertainment Singing Toys!"

Yuzu stopped before wondering how he could know about that show she wanted to do before Sora admitted, "Just like you say I talk in my sleep, you kind of talk in your sleep."

"But..I wanna hear you sing, Yuzu! I wanna see you happy, and not overworking yourself! I want you tell me your worries if you have any and tell me them instead of placing others first like you always do. I want you to think of yourself once in a little."

Sora grabbed her hand and then said, "So let's do it, Yuzu!"

"Sora," Yuzu said, her eyes widening at all he was saying.

"It's gonna be great if you're with me!," Sora commented.

"Sora..no one has ever told me..I shouldn't overwork myself," Yuzu thought. "I've always been told I'm great and I can handle what comes my way or so it seems on the outside. I didn't fake a smile like Yuya but even if I succeeded, I wanted someone to ask if I was ok, because it wasn't easy getting good results."

"I didn't want them to always say, "Great job Yuzu" and "I know you'll always win the next time" along with "It will be easy for you Yuzu!" I didn't want.. pressured expectations to always be the best on me like that, but no one saw that. If I was worried, no one ever pushed deeper to figure out what was wrong, even if they saw something was wrong. Everyone I knew just chalked it up to "Yuzu is strong" and "She can handle it" or "You'll do better in the future."

"I didn't need a "You'll make it next time!" I just wanted to talk about worries and be hugged, because sometimes I can't succeed." "Even so, I couldn't just yell at people for not understanding that because everyone understands things differently. All I wanted was to say, "I won't sink into depression over any loss in my life but can you please just say keep trying your best and not you can win later because I don't always..have confidence in my succession for the future. I wonder if not getting these words that I want to hear you say will be in the future too."

"Sora, you're the only one who.."

Sora's words of when she was out in the rain, mourning over her mother's death, ran through her head.

"I know it's hard but you can still do your best," Sora said.

"Sora, you're the only one who always looks at the present and not tell me "Next time"," Yuzu thought.

"You're the only one who acknowledged it was hard and didn't give me an "It will be easy for you, Yuzu." You knew I could still go on even if it was hard but you also knew that I had to get out my worries. That's why you told me "I should worry more about myself." You knew I also couldn't succeed sometimes which is why you told me to not overwork myself."

"It's not like I dislike your enthusiasm Yuzu but I also think sometimes you shouldn't chew off more than you can chew," Sora had told her.

"Sometimes," Yuzu thought. "You still encouraged me to try and be strong but you also realized when I needed to stop and not try to win for once."

"But is that because you're like me? You're scared of the future?," Yuzu thought.

"I thought I'd be isolated in the future," Sora had told her.

"But we're not alone and even if I'm worried personally, I can't help but still think about everyone around me," Yuzu thought. "Even if other people don't understand, it doesn't mean that you're alone. Yuya, Gongenzaka, and Dad may not have the exact words I want to hear, but I can tell they still care for me, even if the comfort I wanted is different from the one they're giving me. They care for you too Sora and that's why my mind still stays on them a lot more than me."

"But..you're right. I shouldn't overwork myself, and sometimes..I just need someone to say that to me."

"Yuzu?," Sora asked, seeing she had been silent for awhile, but Yuzu quickly laughed.

"My heart..is kinda racing now," Yuzu thought while smiling. "I'm still not sure what these new feelings are that I have around you but..I don't think they're all that bad."

"I'd love to do a show with you in the future!," Yuzu replied happily, placing her hand in front of him and Sora smiled back at her.

Yuzu felt a bit of heat rise to her cheeks but she still kept her smile back at him.

"Thinking about the future also doesn't seem that bad anymore and I can tell you're the same way, aren't you, Sora?," Yuzu thought.

"After the shows, Yuya and I can come to your house to have meals with you!," Sora suggested.

"It's not gonna be like a pit stop, Sora. Yuya and you can't just come by for food," Yuzu said.

"Of course not! Yuya and I can help you cook meals!," Sora explained, but Yuzu only said, "After what you told me about your cooking, that makes me feel a bit worried."

"Then, you can teach me Yuzu!," Sora proposed.

"Then, I can return the favor of you making meals for me. It's the least I could do!"

Yuzu smiled and said, "Sure."

Sora let go of her hand and began hopping up and down, cheering, "YAY!"

"Despite his hard past, he can still be like an innocent child," Yuzu thought, smiling at him.

"It's fine because that's a part of him I wouldn't want to change."

Yuzu snapped out of her daze before stating, "I'm not done yet! Two more questions and I'll be done!"

Sora pouted before giving in. "Fire away," Sora sighed.

"The first question is what was your personal mission for Academia?," Yuzu asked.

"Invade Standard Dimension eventually after gathering intel on it and take back an Academia soldier by the name of Serena," Sora answered.

"She had really similar characteristics to you, Yuzu. I am almost thought she was you at first."

"It scared me at first," Sora thought. "Yuzu!," Sora had called at the holographic presentation of Serena, but the Professor only said, "That's Serena."

"But no matter how I look at it, it just looks like Yuzu," Sora said.

"Capture Yuzu? Can I really do something like that? I don't want to capture Yuzu, because she..," Sora thought as the memory of her smile came to mind. His hands began to shake.

He was so shocked that he hadn't even realized he had given away Yuzu's name.

"And just who is this..Yuzu?," the Professor asked, and Sora instantly regretted the mistake he had made.

"You..you must be hallucinating. I didn't say anyone's name," Sora said, trying to cover up with a smile but the sweat trailing down his face was an obvious giveaway that he was lying.

"Oh? Is that so?," the Professor asked, his gaze steel hard on Sora.

"R-Right. I'll take my leave, Professor," Sora said, turning away from him, and before he even left the Professor asked, "You're not betraying me, are you Sora?"

Sora paused before saying, "Of course not. You're the only one who gave me shelter."

"Shelter?," Sora thought angrily. "More like prison."

The Professor gave an icy smile before saying, "Take your leave then."

"Serena looks like me?," Yuzu repeated, now wondering if she was a counterpart of her like Ruri or someone who simply looked like her.

The words in her dreams of "Copy Yuzu" still hung around in her head. "What does this mean?"

The question couldn't be answered so quickly so Yuzu decided to then move on to her next and final question.

"Before I even asked you to fusion summon, you were looking for Reiji. Why?"

"In the Professor's room, I found a ripped photo with a younger version of Reiji," Sora began. "When I asked who he was, the Professor told me he was his son,Reiji, that he abandoned for personal reasons. I wondered why he was so nonchalant about telling me but I realized he probably thought I wouldn't even know where to find him even if I asked. It was either that or he really didn't care about the well being of his son in general."

"I was curious if that was true. I wondered if his son knew all of the questionable methods he had done. I noticed Reiji's deck had "Dimension" in it and I wondered if he was aware of other dimensions and if he was working with his father or away from his father. I had to ask because well, you shouldn't leave people in the dark like that."

"I still have yet to contact him."

"So that's why," Yuzu said. "Yuya doesn't remember probably because it was long ago but..when we were in preschool, both him and I had met Reiji before."

"Reiji actually got along with Yuya well even if he won't admit it. It was because both Yuya and his father had left so they understood each other a bit. Reiji said Yuya's dad came by his school and made everyone smile, even him."

"I remember when I first met him."

"Long time no see!," Yuya greeted and Reiji slowly approaches him.

"Hello," Reiji said back. "This is my friend, Yuzu!," Yuya introduced, with a real smile this time and Yuzu bowed her head politely down, saying, "A pleasure to meet you."

"Do you want to play with us?," Yuya asks and Reiji gives a grimace.

"Playing" is idiotic.

"I'd rather study," Reiji responds and Yuya replies back, "That's fine. What do you wanna study?"

Reiji stops to think. He had never really studied with others before.

"Dueling strategies," Reiji answers, as he takes out the book from his bag and Yuya and Yuzu sit down on the grass. "Read it to us," Yuya requests, and Reiji sits on the grass across from him, reading the words out. Yuya has some commendable strategies but Reiji is always a step ahead, as is Yuzu. Yuzu offers a very impressive range of intelligence to Reiji but that's not really the main thing on his mind right now. "Some of these dueling strategies don't make sense," Yuya admits, and Yuzu responds with, "It's probably because you're always sleeping in dueling class."

"Sleeping..in dueling class?," Reiji repeats and Yuzu nods. "Yuya has good strategies, but he's more of a visual and active learner than an auditory learner," Yuzu explains. "Even so..he shouldn't sleep in dueling class."

"Well, I learned dueling anyway! That's all that matters! Right, Reiji!?," Yuya inquires.

Reiji pushes his glasses up and says, "You shouldn't sleep in dueling class."

Yuya drops his head, and with a twitching smile, says, "I..see. I-I'll try not to do it anymore," disappointed that Reiji did not agree.

Reiji honestly feels a bit agitated at the boy. "You have great strategies but they're predictable," Reiji tells him. "There is no sense of surprise. Have you been able to read my moves?" Yuya opens his mouth to counter but realizes he hadn't been able to do that at all.

"Your father always had surprise as his main entertainment. You call yourself an entertainer? Where is the fun in that? I can't believe Yusho suggested I should be like a brother to you. You lack the sharp mentality."

"Hey," Yuzu begins but Yuya only laughs. Reiji is now confused. Why did Yusho and his son always laugh when he was always so serious? "What's so funny?," Reiji questions. He demands to know. "Sorry. I just never thought that you loved the fun of entertainment as much as I do although you seem like you'd be a harder critic than me ," Yuya explains,smiling and Reiji realizes all he confesses before clearing his throat.

"I was only tell you the basics of dueling," Reiji clarifies, but Yuya shakes his head.

"Liar!," Yuya shouts back. "You love entertainment. Right, brother?"

"I absolutely do not," Reiji shoots back. "I also wouldn't want someone with a predictable dueling style as my brother."

Yuya argues, "I'm not that predictable! Give me some credit!"

"I'm not that kind so no," Reiji comments, and Yuya grabs on to the top of his sweater.

"Someone who can enjoy entertainment can't be cold hearted!," Yuya argued, and Reiji ordered "Control your emotion."

Yuzu chuckled which brought the attention of Yuya and Reiji to her.

"Miss Yuzu Hiragi, what is funny?," Reiji asks, and Yuzu continues laughing.

"I'm sorry but you two do fight like brothers," Yuzu explains.

Yuya releases his grip and states, "I guess so."

"Anyway, has your father returned?," Reiji asks, and worry is then etched onto Yuya's eyes before a real smile returns.

"It may have started as a lie at first so that I couldn't face reality but now..I truthfully do believe my father is still out there and I won't stop believing that," Yuya said.

This surprised Reiji. Maybe even gave him hope. If Yuya could be truthful despite his father leaving, then Reiji could too but..he still didn't like his Father. He had a lot of questions to ask him.

"Anyway, mom is waiting! Bye brother," Yuya stated, and when he turns to Yuzu and gently tells her goodbye, Reiji could tell that she is definitely a reason for Yuya's smile. "So your father left too?," Yuzu asks, and Reiji wonders how she could possibly know that. "Yuya told me about a silver haired boy whose dad left," Yuzu explains before smiling. "Yuya is usually afraid to fight with anyone but not with you. I guess that means you're someone he cares about."

"Like I care," Reiji replies and Yuzu chuckles. "You two are so similar," Yuzu begins. "You both deny in different forms. Yuya with a smile and you with a glare."

"So? Are you going to offer the platitude that walls will only lead to separating ourselves from people?," Reiji asks, and Yuzu shakes her head.

"I don't expect you to be close with me or others," Yuzu begins. "But..you can't have a life to yourself if there's no real you. That's why..I don't want you to deny yourself with walls. Don't deprive yourself of the gift that is life. Don't be mindless. No one should be a pawn. If I can help, I'll help. If I can be a friend, I'll be a friend. You should have "your" own choice not a "false persona's" choice. Everyone should have free will."

Reiji gives her a faint smile. "I can see why Yuya is affected by you," Reiji comments. "Your caring words have affected me greatly as they have with Yuya."

Yuzu smiles before saying, "Give yourself some credit! It was your option to listen and be affected, Reiji."

"And now he's the president of the Leo Corporation," Yuzu said. "Time flies by so fast, but now, I'm curious about what you also said about Reiji."

"He's definitely someone important for our journey," Sora said, looking off at the horizon before smiling and asking, "Has your curiosity been satisfied?"

"Definitely!," Yuzu answered.

"Good because I don't really like waiting around and just talking, Yuzu."

"It never was your style, Sora."

Author's Note: I FINALLY UPDATED! I have had way too many ideas in my head and far too many crumpled rough drafts but no more writer's block! I know what I'm gonna write and I'm going to do it!

I've always found the relationship between Yuya and Reiji's characters very interesting.

Reiji is calm and Yuya is more emotional, but both of them do have something in common in my opinion. In Reiji and Yuya's first duel, Reiji said Yuya was kind but such kindness has no place in the battlefield. When fighting Yuya a second time after the disappearance of Yuzu, he said Yuya's emotions gave him birth to a new power but they could also cost one in a battlefield. Yuya on the other hand chooses to always stay with his emotions, no matter what.

He believes it's the way to go. It's an interesting contrast between their characters.

After rewatching a bit of the first episodes in Yugioh Arc V, I found Masumi, Hokuto, and Yaiba to have a fun entertaining friendship due to one tiny moment they had before dueling Shun.

Anyway, Yuzu and Sora are still very fun characters to write and I can't wait to write some more for them! Thank you all so very much for reading! ^_^


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Author's Note: It's time to see if Yuzu has succeeded meeting with Masumi or not. What exactly is Masumi even thinking and doing right now? The spotlight is on the LDS trio this chapter!

Masumi hugged her shopping bags close to her chest, groaning. Why did she have to do this errand? It all started with a simple action. Hokuto had baked a cake and wanted it to be perfect, which was something Masumi could understand, from her several attempts at trying to make Marco-sensei treats.

Yaiba and Masumi had assumed the cake was done so they naturally picked the strawberries off the cake and began to eat them. That unfortunately made Hokuto flail his arms around as he yelled, "I wasn't finished yet and it wasn't perfect!"

"Uh, sorry sorry!," Yaiba said with a sheepish smile, and Masumi kept her stoic expression as she replied, "We just assumed you were done."

"It has to be perfect!," Hokuto shouted, turning his back to him as he went to get out more ingredients and spread them all out on the counter.

"This is his eighteenth time making this cake," Yaiba whispered. "Is that normal?"

"Someone who can't cook is asking me that?," Masumi inquired, and Yaiba only frowned, before muttering, "Quiet."

"If we were out in the wilderness, I could totally cook up something quick."

"Something tells me you would have too much fun going overboard with the heat and over boil or burn everything," Masumi stated.

"Well, if we had to survive in the wilderness I would totally be of good use!," Yaiba yells, and Masumi begins to imagine if they were.

She imagined Yaiba and Hokuto walking into far too many traps, fighting over who read the map, running from bears, burning meals, and..Marco being calm through all of it, laughing at their antics, fixing a nice campfire, and reassuring all of them that they would be home soon. Masumi would claim Yaiba and Hokuto are far too reckless and Marco would just laugh it off as they ate the fish he made far too quickly and fought behind her.

Then they would all peacefully fall asleep in their sleeping bags, glad they were still together even if two said people were much calmer than two other said reckless people who fought over maps.

It was a warm fantasy, making her smile fondly but her eyes grew darker when she thought of how dumb Yaiba and Hokuto could be. "Running from bears is too much," Masumi said and Yaiba sweatdropped thinking, "What exactly do you think Hokuto and I will be like in the wilderness?"

"Anyway, you have to admit that this whole cake business with Hokuto is too much," Yaiba said.

"He wants to make sure it's aesthetically pleasing and that it's taste is excellent. I can understand that much. Surely you can too?," Masumi said, but Yaiba only shook his head.

"You and Hokuto are two completely different people when it comes to baking," Yaiba commented. "You both become so..happy."

"Cooking is relaxing. That fact is further raised when I cook for Marco. What do you expect?," Masumi casually responded. "Just weird is all," Yaiba replied before hearing Hokuto scream.

"Someone needs to go to the store and get some more eggs!," Hokuto screamed, before pointing to Masumi. "I nominate Masumi!"

"What!?," Masumi yelled and Yaiba only snickered, saying, "Guess I don't have to do that end of the chores."

"Why me, Hokuto?," Masumi growled and Hokuto quickly replied, "Because unlike Yaiba, you understand the taste and aesthetic appeal of a meal."

"Oh, this is all because of that one time where there was a mixture of colors on the plate," Yaiba bitterly remarked. "I see how it is."

"You said you were making..ugh, nevermind," Hokuto groaned. "It doesn't matter because what you were making was not what it was suppose to be!"

Hokuto then grew a goofy grin before saying, "Besides, imagine how happy Marco will be when this cake is baked!"

Masumi's face softened at that, and she quickly cleared her throat before stating, "Fine."

Masumi then thought of them all sitting together and laughing with one another, just happy to enjoy the meal. She blushed, trying to maintain her frown before she said, "I'm only doing this because I respect your cooking and so we can all have a decent meal."

She then shut the door, hearing a very loud mixture of things.

"Yaiba, would you stop whisking.."

"Whoops. Sorry for ruining your clothes, Hokuto. Oh, that's gonna leave a stain."

"REALLY!? WILL IT!? LET ME DO THE KIND FAVOR OF RETURNING WHAT YOU DID TO ME!"

"AHH, HOKUTO! YOU KNOW THIS IS MY FAVORITE JACKET!"

"MAYBE IF YOU THOUGHT BEFORE YOU THINK, YAIBA, THIS WOULDN'T HAPPEN!"

"OH LIKE YOU'RE ANY BETTER! MISTER I LOST 500 LIFE POINTS BUT LET ME GO OVERBOARD AND ALREADY BRING OUT MY ACE MONSTER EVEN THOUGH I COULD SAVE IT FOR A BETTER PLAN!"

"THAT'S IT, YAIBA! STOP THROWING THE SUPPLIES FOR THE MEAL DOWN!"

"DOES IT REALLY MATTER!? LET'S JUST THROW STUFF TOGETHER!"

"COOKING DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT!"

Then, crashing noises were heard and Masumi sighed. Could those two not do anything loud? Hokuto did have a point though. You can't just throw random stuff and call it a meal, Yaiba.

Masumi continued to walk with her grocery bags, her mind drifting to strange flashes of thoughts.

She was in some type of..blue uniform, looking up at a man with a steel hard gaze in a purple coat before her.

"Professor," she said. "Master Marco is looking for his brother, Artemis."

"I think he could be a worthy soldier if Marco were to find him."

"You wish to recruit someone to our noble cause?," the Professor asked, and Masumi nodded.

"I suppose I have no reason to reject such a request. Very well. Search in Standard Dimension first while also figuring out if pendulum summoning could very be a threat to our cause. Do not fail in your search for pendulum summoning or I will never grant you the opportunity to be with your dear siblings and father. Hokuto, Yaiba, and Marco would be most disappointed."

"You don't at all have to worry sir," Masumi said, saluting to him. "I will never fail in such an important task."

"..Is that so? Not even with the risk of Hokuto, Yaiba, and Marco's lives?," the Professor asked, and Masumi only stared at him harder.

"Relationships of your kind can only cause a rift when they're gone. Are you sure you want to be so attached and not just confirm yourself to nothing more than a soldier?"

"I am a soldier, but I'm not the kind to easily discard bonds with the people I have made!," Masumi yelled. "I wouldn't do that to them! I trust them just as much as they trust me!"

"Just don't misplace your trust," the Professor states and Masumi only glared at him harder.

"You may be the ruler of all these troops but that doesn't give you a reason to disrespect Hokuto, Yaiba, and I's bonds," Masumi rebuked. "Marco has been the most wonderful father we could ever have after we had ones who disowned us not wanting our worth to be nothing more than a soldier. Marco sees that were soldiers and also..people. He knows we have hearts."

"Something you never understood, as you only give us orders. I never liked sitting around much and neither did Yaiba or Hokuto, but now you'll see just how strong our family is."

"Of course, but only if you succeed, Masumi, will I allow permanent safety to your.."family"," Professor said. "This place is a home, Professor?," Masumi asked, offering a smirk. "More like a prison. I do enjoy avenging those fallen in battle, along with Hokuto and Yaiba but..Marco would always tell us to resolve peaceful relations or we'll regret it. He told us more hurt only brings more hurt. That's why we were moved to fight for justice. With his kind reasoning, we wanted to fight for **true justice not injustice."**

"Marco always raises us, even though our acts of vengeance can be out of boundaries, he still tries to calmly soothe us so no more do we have to deal with helplessness over what we do. He tells us to live with purpose and that if we can't have a duel with a smile, at least have memories of smiles. That's why...I'll always be loyal to my wonderful father, Marco, and you will never change that."

"After this war, my family will all follow their dreams. Hokuto will be an astrologist, Yaiba will be a duelist teacher, Marco will be a teacher too that feels happier alongside his brother, and I will be finding jewels, deciphering personalities. I prefer meaning in life."

Straightforward, blunt, and strong minded, Masumi wouldn't give up.

Masumi than shut the door tightly and the Professor only muttered in irritation, "Loyalty to your father? That could only get you killed. I would know. I am a father. I know more than you think, impudent soldier. Personal feelings get people **killed.** "

Masumi snapped back to the reality realizing she had almost walked into a pole! She needed to stay alert. Masumi was usually always alert so why were these memories coming to change that? Why did those memories seem so familiar to her? She's..hallucinating.

Masumi wonders if Marco ever mentioned anything about a brother, but can't find any recollection of hearing such a thing. At any case it may have been a fantasy Masumi formed as she believed Marco should be as happy as he can, and spending time with someone he can consider a brother was a nice fulfillment to that.

Where's Marco anyway? He went missing and Masumi couldn't help but worry. The security said they could handle it but Masumi was doubting their abilities. She wanted to find him. Masumi also wanted to find that masked figure. He popped up at around the same time Marco disappeared and was an XYZ user. Shun would be proud if she succeeded.

Wait. Shun? Masumi stood there, thinking of how that name didn't really hold in her..any feelings of companionship.

In fact, she suddenly felt mad towards it but she didn't know why. He wasn't a bad person. He was an LDS student and..

Why can't she remember anything else about him? She had spent time with him, hadn't she?

As Masumi tried to find proof of that in her mind, she began to feel frustrated and yelled, "Come on! Think!"

Why was this so hard? A memory popped up. Shun hitting Yaiba, Hokuto, and her with his Raid Raptor and them all falling down. Masumi yelling beforehand at how he was the reason Marco disappeared. How the crimes on LDS users were only done by XYZ users, where one wore a black cape and the other wore a blue coat.

Then, Masumi, Yaiba, and Hokuto were all strapped to tables, and Shun was calmly watching them along with a silver haired man. "Why can't I just finish them off here!?," Shun asked. "Their professor was a fusion user that needed to be dealt with! They're no different from him!"

"Control your emotions," Reiji cooly replied. "I've had surveillance cameras on this whole dimension to make sure I know when someone invades this dimension. They are from Academia, and I can't have them interfere with my plans by telling all that they have seen here. I'll have to erase their memories."

Reiji pulled out a device, with pumping chords, and Shun only yelled, "You can erase people's minds so easily!? Why would you have that!?"

"Father's secrets did not get very far," Reiji simpled said, before pressing a button that send out an energy ray which zapped the brains of the LDS ace students. They all winced before returning to sleep.

"I'll have to bring them back home," Reiji said, and now Masumi was not only beginning to feel hate for..Reiji, and Shun! Hold on. She didn't even know if anything that was happening was true or not. If it was real or not.

This was strange and she was getting to the bottom of this. As if her prayers were answered, she saw him and her jaw dropped. The man with a mask and black cape was on top of the building and immediately Masumi dropped the grocery bags to chase after him. She needed answers. If he was the reason Marco was missing, **he would pay.** She would bring Marco back to her, Hokuto, and Yaiba so they could all just be peaceful and safe.

Masumi continued to run before hearing Marco's calm voice echo in her head, saying, "Try to calmly reason with the enemy, Masumi."

"You can't always do that, Marco," Masumi argued but that memory where she had told that..Professor that Marco's justice was right came back to her mind.

One part of her had said, "Who cares? Is there really time for this?"

Another part of her had said, "It does! Think about the oath you made to change from your revenge alongside Hokuto and Yaiba."

"I made no such oath," Masumi thought but her thoughts were agreeing, thus making her confused. "I will avenge Marco."

Again, there was a contradictory voice.

"That's not what Marco said! Are you really gonna go back on your word? Think before you recklessly act, Masumi! Do you really want to throw away your promise of change?"

Her..promise?

Now, there was another memory. Professor Marco was also in a blue uniform smiling rather painfully at Masumi before saying, "If I ever disappear, you have to not choose the path of vengeance. There are other innocent lives hurt, once included into revenge. Besides, I would like to see you grow with Hokuto and Yaiba, and I don't want to see your grow into only cruelty. Hurting others because I'm gone won't help. Don't make me sad."

"I..," Masumi struggled to argue.

"Oy, Masumi!," a voice called, surprising her.

She turned around to see Yaiba who was stained all over with food.

Masumi would ask what happened but she she knows what it is(Yaiba hasn't always been the most calmest cooks) and there are far more important things to focus on.

She looked up to see her chase hadn't let to anything. The masked figure was gone.

Gone.

She felt her heart to crush but she wouldn't give up until she found him.

"Man! The eggs are squashed!," Yaiba yelled, but Masumi didn't pay attention.

Yaiba looked at her seriously, asking, "What's with you Masumi?"

Masumi looks at Yaiba's softer expression. His expression used to be rougher. It seemed to change ever since he began teaching Gongenzaka how to synchro summon. He admitted he was scared at first when he hovered over him, but he decided to look forward for his abilities.

Yaiba is just like Masumi. He wants answers right way but she can't give them to her.

"Nothing," Masumi said but Yaiba only frowns deeper. "I know it's something, Masumi," Yaiba said, but Masumi wasn't explaining.

"Come on. Spit it out."

….."It's Marco, isn't it?"

Masumi's shoulders tensed and he can tell he hit a nerve.

"...Wanna go look for him?"

Masumi's eyes widened and she began to say, "But I.."

Yaiba then gave her a goofy grin before saying, "Come on, Masumi! We gotta go find our father."

Yaiba then frowned as he said, "Hokuto will come too. You were planning on resolving this alone weren't you?"

Masumi didn't say anything and Yaiba only shoved her shoulder saying, "Were suppose to stick together. Were a family, Masumi."

Masumi didn't say anything before slowly smiling and saying, "Right."

Yaiba's smile seems..softer lately.

Is it because..

"What exactly did training with Gongenzaka do to you?," Masumi asked, which surprised Yaiba.

"Hey! I'm just happy I got to be a master for once!"

Yaiba paused before mentioning, "Although..I feel like I have met him before."

"Before?," Masumi asked.

"Yeah and it feels like..I actually enjoyed his company a lot," Yaiba said, before scratching his head and saying, "I must be crazy." "He's just a nice strong hearted guy. He talks about wanting to help his family's steadfast dueling style and how he's going to be strong to protect his friends. He can be too serious sometimes when he needs to loosen up but I can tell he means well."

"I must be crazy too then, because I've been having feelings that something feels familiar or I've met the person but it was in a different way I imagined," Masumi explained. She sighed.

This was all crazy.

"Why do I like teaching Gongenzaka that much?," Yaiba asked.

In that moment, Yaiba had a flash of memory. He was sitting cross legged on a rug beside a blonde haired man with a brown plaid coat. "Master Jean, you're amazing!," Yaiba shouted to the man. "One of these days, I'm gonna have students and teach them just like you! You're also not uptight like those Tops in Synchro Dimension! You believe in equality!"

Jean smiled and said, "You know I use to be apart of such a high rank in a city with only divison like Synchro Dimension here in Fusion Dimension."

"What!? Like the tops!? No way! You're way too nice!," Yaiba yelled and Jean said, "Oh, it's true."

"But I didn't like my position. That's why I decided to leave. I did not like being higher than another human being. Now, I'm here with you. I'm glad to have you as my student."

Yaiba stared at Jean before breaking out into goofy grin, rubbing the back of his head and asking, "Jeez, is there anything you're not good at Jean!?"

Jean thought for a moment before saying, "I am absolutely horrible at cooking."

"Come on, Master! Let's try to polish up our culinary skills so we fill up our stomachs as much as we want," Yaiba said.

They had tried and tried but in the end both of the meals ended up being burnt.

"To scraping off burntness," Yaiba sheepishly said, and Jean after looking at his food blankly, scrapped off his burtness with a knife. "I suppose so," Jean managed to say, disappointed at the outcome of his food. Yaiba continued to smile excitedly and Jean chuckled a bit. "Aren't you an enthusiastic apprentice?," Jean said, and Yaiba's smile only grew more.

"It's because I really don't know what I would of done if you hadn't saved me when I was stranded and just an orphan," Yaiba explained. "You're someone I never want to forget."

"Yaiba," Jean began. "I have had a lot of unfortunate events to occur to me, but I do not want to forget you either, even though my memories can be erased."

"Even though your memories can be erased?," Yaiba asked, confused now. "What do you mean?"

Jean only sighed and said, "I wish I could explain it to you, but now's not the time. Just know you will always be a good apprentice."

"..Okay," Yaiba hesitantly responded.

Spending time with this person, Jean, honestly made Yaiba warm and safe but then he frowned feeling an icy cold. "I said I would forget him, and then I did," Yaiba muttered. "He doesn't seem like someone I wasn't to forget."

"Is Hokuto really still making a cake?," Masumi asked, and Yaiba shook his head. "You're gonna be surprised by this but he wants to try and talk with Sawatari," Yaiba answered.

Masumi blinked before saying," That egotistical duelist. What would he want with him?"

"Hokuto thinks he's like him in the way," Yaiba said.

"He says he masks everything with ego and isn't open but also not shy towards others."

"Hokuto knows what it's like to mask everything with ego so he wants to see if he can connect with that Sawatari."

Masumi and Yaiba both stared at eachother before thinking,"I think he's still being far too kind."

Masumi's thoughts went back to that blue haired boy she had seen with Yuzu.

He also seemed..familiar. Whenever she saw him, she couldn't help but feel...irritated.

It's because he's far too childish. Of course he is which is why..

Wait. How would Masumi know that? She..barely knows that boy.

Now another memory is coming on.

"Yo, Sora!," Yaiba had called to the blue haired boy Masumi had recently thought of. Sora looked at Yaiba with emotionless eyes but Yaiba still held a confident smirk. "Jean is good at reading fortunes so you should come and have yours read."

The man next to Yaiba was in a very long brown coat. One that Masumi thought could suffocate him. "Is that so?," Sora asked, very skeptical of the whole matter.

Jean smiled before saying, "Yes. Perhaps I can predict the type of girl you would be interested in."

"Why would I be interested in such a thing?," Sora asked and Jean only said, "I never said you were. I merely suggested the possibility."

"Whatever. I'm bored. Humor me," Sora said, sitting down and Jean started to move his hands around a crystal ball and all Sora could think was "Is he serious? He thinks I'll buy this prediction?"

Jean paused before smiling.

"Quit gawking and give me my answers already," Sora said, and Jean only chuckled.

"She's very kind," Jean began and Sora only sarcastically said, "Great! A naive person. Just what I need."

"That's actually her strength," Jean said, and Sora only cynically replied,"Oh really?"

"However..she seems to overwork herself for others," Jean said.

"There's no way I would be interested in someone like that in the future," Sora replied, and Jean only smiled and said, "If you say so, Sora."

Sora looked off to the side to see Isao crouching in a corner staring at him and Sora yelled, "What!?"

Isao looked away, slightly blushing, before saying, "The girl's personality seems nice."

"Not interested," Sora replied.

"Hey, Sora," Yaiba said, and Sora only groaned, "What is it now?"

"Let's see what delicious food we can cook," Yaiba suggested and Sora only gave him a "Are you serious?" look. "First, I burn my meals," Sora said. "Second off, you burn your meals. Third off, no."

"Afraid of a challenge?," Yaiba asked, and try as he might to deny it, Sora slowly gave in and said, "You're on."

He shouldn't have because he wrecked the kitchen just trying to look for ingredients. They had eventually seen that Masumi had made a cake and were about to place their hands on it because who could resist sweets? Unfortunately that was only met with the pounding of her fists on their heads,causing Yaiba to yell, "What the-" and Sora to shout, "What gives!?"

"You two can't have any," Masumi says, and Yaiba whines while Sora grits his teeth in agitation.

"You always gotta be such a killjoy?," Sora asked and Masumi shot him a deadly glare which made him laugh. Reactions are enjoyable things, are they not?

His enjoyment was interrupted by Hokuto, as he timidly asked if he could have a treat.

"Sure..but only cause you asked," Masumi conceded. "You don't have to be afraid all the time. Ask."

Hokuto stares down before smiling, blushing slightly, as he says, "R-Right. Thanks.:

Hokuto was about to grab a treat before boasting, "But I'm the best duelist here so it's not like I need an answers of help. No way am I afraid. Fear means questions. That's not me."

"I asked if you needed something with no hesitancy so you're disproven," Masumi said, which made Hokuto's smirk disappear. "Just be yourself for crying out loud."

Hokuto slowly smiled and said, "...I'll try."

Isao sat in the corner and Masumi said, "It's the same for you too. You don't have to be in a corner."

Masumi's thoughts ended and she clutched her head, confused at all that kept occurring.

"Let's get going. Let's call Hokuto to meet up with us."

Masumi and Yaiba both began to run, and all was fine until Masumi bumped into something making her fall over. "Masumi!?," Yaiba called worriedly. He then pointed his finger at who had made her fall down and said, "You're that girl he beat!" Masumi looked up both confused and infuriated. It had been Yuzu she had bumped into.

"Masumi, I finally found you!," Yuzu rejoiced, but Masumi only wondered why she was there. "What are you doing here Yuzu?," Masumi asked. "Don't tell you lost the Miami Battle Championship," Masumi said, and Yuzu quickly shook her head. "Nothing like that, Masumi!," Yuzu reassures her and Masumi smirks, saying, "Good cause I wouldn't accept you losing."

"Anyway, I have to leave," Masumi says, but Yuzu quickly asks, "Wait! Where are you going!?"

"Isn't it obvious?," Masumi retorted. "To find Professor Marco. This doesn't concern you."

"What do you mean?," Yuzu asked. "Let me help you."

"NO!," Masumi shouted, startling Yuzu. "Not only does it not concern you but I do not.."

Masumi's thoughts went back to when she had caught her in their duel with her Bloom Diva.

"Want you hurt..," Masumi finished.

"I'm coming with you regardless of whether I get hurt or not," Yuzu stubbornly decided. Masumi sighed, staring back at her, smiling as she said, "Your eyes hold more luster than they did before."

Yuzu smiled before deciding she had to focus on the task on hand.

"I've got something very important to tell you, Masumi."

"And what would that be, Yuzu?"

"It's about your memories."

"My...memories?"

Author's Note: Wow! Thank you all for such kind reviews! I'm really sorry it took so long to update. This took long because I had ideas for another Musicboxshipping fanfic project that I wanted to do after this and I was pretty much thinking of ideas for both that other project and my current work. I hope you all liked this chapter! I am working hard on the next chapter, but for now, thank you so very much for reading!


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